


The Weight of Living

by anniekinkin (bubblline)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T COMPLETED THE GAME, Deals with gods, Drinking Games, Episode Prompto Spoilers, Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of blood and injuries, OR IS IT, Pining, Post-Canon, Survivor Guilt, Unrequited Crush, although this is promptis gladio and ignis deeply love and care about noctis, heavy endgame spoilers, literally right after canon, now with art!, prompto is a self-sacrificing lovesick man, prompto is dealing with A Lot, prompto pov, talk about death and dying, talk about self-sacrifice, the bros have to decide how to continue after what happened, they're trying for a less gloomy wake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-02-13 05:15:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 25,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12976791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblline/pseuds/anniekinkin
Summary: No one ever talked about what happened after the fighting and the battles were over, no one talked about piecing a person back together that hadn’t existed for ten years. He didn’t know what the future might hold.There wouldn’t be a “The King is dead, long live the King” for them.----------“Let’s say, the Gods, for whatever reason, decided to offer you a deal, would you take it?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this has been ghosting around my head for like 4 months now (cough since I finished the game cough) and I'm excited to share it with you.  
> Here's my take on a fix-it-fic. Enjoy! 
> 
> (in case you haven't read the tags: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME THERE WILL BE HEAVY SPOILERS)

It was almost time. He sighed and got up from the dusty bed he'd been sitting on. Prompto smoothed out the crinkles he’d made in the soft black comforter and looked around. Everything in the room looked as if its owner might come back any minute and pick up the books strewn over the desk or the stray shirt over the back of the chaise lounge. Even a couple of old comic books littered the small coffee table in front of it. A lifetime ago he’d planned to bribe Noct with greasy fast food to let him read those after the wedding. The covers were faded but still readable, maybe he’d have to time for them later, when the worst of it was over.

There were even a couple of boxes with the stuff they’d brought over from Noct’s old flat the evening before the road trip. If it weren't for the dust Prompto would have sworn he was 20 again and buzzing with excitement being allowed to travel with the other guys and be part of Noct’s retinue. Or being 15 again and visiting the place Noctis grew up in for the first time.

He slowly stepped over to the wide windows, the first glimpses of light illuminated the debris and ruins of what once was Insomnia. From here the entire city used to be visible, he used to be able to see his house from here.

It was weird to see dawn again after a decade of darkness but it was even weirder to see Insomnia destroyed. He’d only ever heard about it on the news or from refugees who’d fled after the Empire attacked. After Gralea there hadn’t really been a point or opportunity to come back here either. Why would he? What mattered to him was either with him or untouchable in another dimension. And yet. Insomnia was etched in his bones, his memories, good and bad. It had been his home once. And that feeling of obligation and nostalgia was hard to shake.

The sun’s warmth still felt foreign, even through the tinted windows he felt the rays touch and warm his skin. It was the second sunrise after what happened. A miracle in on itself. Although the word “miracle” tasted bitter in Prompto’s mouth. They won, but it was a hollow victory at best. No one ever talked about what happened after the fighting and the battles were over, no one talked about piecing a person back together that hadn’t existed for ten years. He didn’t know what the future might hold.

Iggy had insisted they need to go back to normalcy as soon as possible and that meant rebuilding Lucis and finding a way to govern what was left of it and its people. And while Prompto agreed that the people needed direction and a guiding hand, it also felt like they were moving too fast. Moving _on_ too fast. Noctis had only been dead for a little over twenty-four hours. But there weren’t any and wouldn’t be any Kings or Queens of the line of Lucis to ascend the throne.

There wouldn’t be a “The King is dead, long live the King” for them.

Talk about an elected government had been around for ages, people whispered about it in the streets and even at school he’d heard a few debates about it. But he’d never thought he’d see the day it would actually happen. _Had to happen_ , Prompto corrected himself. His shoulders sagged and he let out a deep sigh, he really didn't want to be in Iggy's shoes right now. Where to even begin? As far as Prompto knew Ignis was the only person left with any idea how to rule this kingdom, or whatever was left of it. The Kingsglaive and Council had been mostly slaughtered in the attack on Insomnia or betrayed their king, and the Crownsguard was barely any better. Their future looked bleak to be completely honest.

“Prompto.” his head snapped up at the sudden sound. Gladio was leaning against the door frame, one hand stuffed in the pocket of his torn Crownsguard uniform. Prompto hadn’t even noticed he was standing there, he’d been so lost in thought. Gladio uncrossed his legs and straightened up and smoothed down his uniform. None of the three admitted that the uniform was a little unnecessary now that there was no king to guard. Prompto studied his friend, and noticed the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and the new scowl lines beside his mouth. He looked so much older than he should.

“It’s almost time, Iggy’s waiting.” Gladio said, looking expectantly at him.

 “I'll be down in a sec, Gladio.” He did his best to sound neutral and assured.

“Alright kiddo, we’re waiting in the conference room.” Gladio made his way back downstairs, his heavy steps echoing on the marble floor. Prompto averted his from the door, he didn’t want to see him go, much less acknowledge what they were about to announce. But he had to. For Noct and all of them.

He straightened up again and walked, with as much confidence as he could muster, out of the room.

 

* * *

 

There were a couple of signs the Citadel had been abandoned for all these years. Prompto noted the cracks in the paint and the dried up flower pots lining the walls as he made his way to the conference room. Whenever he had been around in the past, glaives and servants roamed the halls. It was like a bee’s nest, compared to Prompto’s own deadly quiet home. He even befriended a couple of maids and guards Gladio introduced to him. He wondered what happened to them. But a lot of things had stayed eerily the same. The paintings on the walls and the air of something ancient stayed the same. Prompto felt like a glaive might come up to him any minute and demand to know the reason why he was unaccompanied in this section of the Citadel.

 

When Prompto pushed open the metal doors, with more effort than it should have taken him, Iggy and Gladio were already seated in front of the old-fashioned recording and transmission system Prompto set up from scratch earlier. It looked like a misshapen wire deathtrap ready to explode at any moment but it was still, miraculously, functional.

They hadn't really discussed what they would say, only that it would be best to let Iggy handle the talking. He was the one with the most experience in this field after all. Gladio and Prompto were only here to morally support him.

Ignis hands were carefully arranged on the table, intertwined, almost as if he was praying, they looked regal with their fine gloves and their absolute stillness.

“If you two are ready, I’ll start.”

“Good as we’ll ever be.” Gladio said and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Ignis slowly inhaled and turned his head towards the microphone, he squared his shoulders and began to speak.

“This is an announcement concerning yesterday’s events and the following sunrise. Many of you probably know, or can suspect, what happened.” Ignis paused, his shoulders dropping slightly. “His Royal Highness King Noctis Lucis Caelum returned to us. He, Gladiolus Amicitia, Prompto Argentum and myself, Ignis Scientia, fought against Ifrit the Betrayer.”

Prompto saw the fight with crystal clarity before his eyes, they’d worked like a well-oiled machine against the God and won, as crazy as it sounded, it didn’t feel like they’d slain a god.

 “With the Astrals’ help we were able to defeat him. The King then fought against Niflheim’s former chancellor Ardyn Izuna, whose true identity was revealed to be that of Ardyn Lucis Caelum, or the Immortal Accursed.” Ignis paused and swallowed. “In this fight King Noctis was able to banish Ardyn and the starscrouge, but for that,” Ignis cast his unseeing eyes down to his hands, their grip looked much more clenched than they had when Ignis began speaking, “he gave his own life.” Prompto looked down at the table in front of them and exhaled a shuddering breath. Ignis said it.

 “Prompto, Gladio and myself were his Majesty’s loyal servants, members of the Crownsguard, but most of all his friends.” He cleared his throat “I was raised to be Noctis’ advisor since I was six years old and I know I can speak for my companions when I say that his Majesty’s death is difficult... to process and even harder to accept.” Prompto glanced at Ignis’ profile that betrayed no emotion, but Prompto heard the little unsteadiness in his voice.

“Yet his Highness would have wanted his kingdom to be rebuild and see his people thrive again. And for that we need a competent government to lead this country. I implore the remaining members of the former Crownsguard and Kingsglaive to make their way to Insomnia. Furthermore, I humbly request guidance from the Accordian Nation, as well as Lestallum and its leaders. I fear, I am the only royal advisor left in Lucis. For now, we will stay put in Insomnia, it is our goal to rebuild our, and perhaps, your home from its ashes to raise it up again to its former beauty.” Ignis cleared his throat.

“I want to say one last thing before the end of this message. On our journey, that was meant to end in a wedding but instead ended in death, we made many friends that helped us along the way. If you are hearing this I want to thank all of you for your kindness and friendship. Noctis was not a man of many words but I know he felt the same way. If you wish to travel to Insomnia and say goodbye, know that there will be a place for you with us.” After a moment of complete silence Iggy stopped the recording.

“I believe that was the most relevant information, or did you want to add anything?”

“No, I think you said it all, Iggy.” Prompto said, his chest aching.

“That’ll probably do it.” Gladio agreed and shifted forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees. 

“This message should transmit on loop on different frequencies every couple of minutes, right Prompto?”

“It should, though I can’t make any promises, I only had scraps to work with.”

“Even without the message people are bound to come here sooner or later. At least Cindy and Cid know we’re here.”

                      

 

* * *

 

Prompto was glad Ignis didn’t and wouldn’t tell the rest of the world how they’d found Noctis after they defeated the daemons.

 

Noctis had been sitting on his throne, his head resting on his chest. He might have almost looked like he was sleeping, had it not been for Regis’ sword impaling him right through his heart. Noct had looked so much like his father up there, in his royal robes and longer hair. Prompto felt uncomfortably reminded of the first time he'd visited the Citadel and met King Regis in person.

Regis had been a kind ruler and father, if not a little distant due to his duties. Nevertheless, Prompto always liked him. But seeing Noctis up there, with a sword sticking out of him, Prompto couldn’t quite stifle the harsh flame of anger inside his chest and the hot wetness in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t feel any less angry when Gladio had to remove the blade with a sharp tug, and a sickening squelch filled the throne room. Prompto swore the sound echoed through the whole Citadel and every single one of his cells. It was almost like the sound extinguished everything else in the room. Prompto caught Noct before he could topple over now that the sword was no longer pinning him in place. The weight of his best friend in his arms was so different than it had been when he used to hug him or let Noct use him as a pillow all those years ago.

 

Gladio probably could have carried Noctis by himself but he didn’t say anything when Ignis and Prompto helped him carry the lifeless body down the stairs. And even if he had, Prompto had promised Lady Lunafreya to support Noctis and that was what he was doing. For the very last time. Prompto couldn’t imagine Ignis would react any kinder to the prospect of not helping his friend.

The silent tears that made their way slowly down his cheeks transformed into violent sobs that shook Prompto’s body as they laid Noctis down on the marble floor. He didn’t know how else to put it, he heard Gladio and Ignis break right next to him. They weren’t graceful or dignified as they cried over their dead friend, one hand gripped by Ignis and the other by Gladio. Prompto kneeled next to Ignis and touched his forehead to Noctis’.

He had never been one for praying but he was now, begging the Astrals to bring him back, for one last miracle. But even Prompto couldn’t deny how Noctis’ skin was cooling by the minute. He himself felt so cold, so lonely. And for this moment it felt like the last ten years were nothing but a bad fever dream, Prompto was twenty again. Everything inside him felt raw and vulnerable, he couldn’t stand this helplessness. He survived ten years of hell only to lose everything again in a matter of hours?

It  was Gladio who spoke up first, his eyes red-rimmed and his voice choked up and tired.

“We have to move him, he can’t stay here.” Gladio didn’t look up from Noctis’ face as he said that. Ignis nodded and carefully straightened his spine.

“But where to?” Prompto asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn’t want to move, not now or ever.

“There is a morgue a few stories down, we will bring him there.” Ignis voice was rough and quiet, so unlike his usual assured tone, and the other two nodded. It felt impossible to get up again. To carry Noctis to the elevator and down, down, down.

 

* * *

 

They laid him on a table in the middle of the room, the scalpels and other medical equipment were mostly untouched and laid out on a small table on a filing cabinet. There was some dried blood on one of them and Prompto wondered what the story behind it was. Did the medical examiner try to defend themself against the intruders? Or, Prompto shuddered, pick a way _out_ that didn’t involve daemons or Niflheim soldiers? His hand was still resting on Noct’s left knee when those gruesome thoughts shot through his mind.

“What now Iggy?” Gladio asked as he slumped against the far wall and closed his eyes.

“Well, we should probably make an announcement.” Ignis said.

“That is not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Yes, I do, but I cannot give you an answer to that question. I simply do not know.”

Prompto glanced at Ignis, he didn’t think he had ever heard Ignis say those words before. Usually he had at least some kind of idea or knowledge about, well, everything. Even losing his vision and the apocalypse hadn’t changed that. Yet, here they were. Not that Prompto could blame Iggy, he was in a terrible state, still bloody and disheveled from the fight and looking like the last day aged him twenty years. His scars looked even grimmer against his ashy face now. They probably all looked worse for wear, Prompto hadn’t paid attention to his reflection when he walked past reflective surfaces in the last twenty-four hours.

“I think you two should leave, look around and see what can still be salvaged, get the word out to whoever has functioning transmission devices and radios.” Gladio said.

“Bu-” Prompto tried to protest before Ignis stopped him.

“I think Gladio is right, I need your help with this, Prompto.” Ignis closed the distance between them in a couple of limping steps and laid his hand on Prompto’s shoulder. He slightly squeezed it and turned to the exit of the cold room. The warmth of Ignis’ hand still lingered when Prompto looked over to Gladio, who was intently looking at Noct, and decided to follow Ignis.

 

* * *

 

They didn’t talk once they left the morgue. Nor did they when they found old radios that were used by the glaives before the fall. Lucky enough one still worked and Ignis went through all frequencies until someone answered and promised to relay the message to stay tuned to a specific frequency they’d use to broadcast an important announcement. Prompto rewired a few of the other radios and remodeled them to loop a message. All the while Ignis sat beside him, completely silent. And after that, it was all they could do for the moment.

They sat in silence and Prompto started fidgeting with the screws and discarded metal bits from the radios. Silence and rest weren’t good, it meant he had time to think, to realize things. He had to move.

“Iggy, is it alright if I-”

“No need to stay here for my sake, Prompto.”

Prompto wrung his hands “That transparent, huh?”

“I’ve known you for a very long time, old friend, I still know you.”

And that was enough.

 

* * *

 

When Prompto was a teenager he often stayed up well past any normal bed time, especially on Sundays. It felt like so long as he wasn’t asleep it wasn’t the next day yet. And that was exactly what he was doing now. So long as he didn’t sleep he wouldn’t wake up to a world without Noctis. Again. He was aware that he was fighting a losing battle but sleep deprivation didn’t exactly help him make rational decisions. Prompto hadn’t slept for more than an a few hours since Noctis returned, he hadn’t wanted to miss a second, not after ten horrible years of missing him. And now he was afraid to.

He wandered the halls. Fifteen years ago we would have been delighted to finally see the Citadel and its many rooms, to be allowed in all of them and free to hunt for photo opportunities.

Prompto spent hours opening random doors and drawers, reading the papers and books he found. When he stepped into King Regis’ sleeping chambers he slowed down and took a closer look around.

Like the rest of the Citadel, his room was laid out with shining stone tiles, probably marble. The wide windows faced the courtyard, the fountains and parts of the garden visible even from so high up. The sun softly touched the edges of the barren trees below him and almost made it look like they glowed.

Prompto was surprised that the room looked well lived in, to him Regis was not much more than the King and his best friend’s dad. It was weird to see the little tidbits of personality lying around, like the sheet music and a dusty violin on top of a coffee table by the black leather armchair. Or the looming book case filled to the brim with books that ranged from contemporary prose to centuries old volumes of poetry. He found one especially well-loved copy of classic Lucian poetry that was inscribed with the words:

 

“For my love,

I do not fear the night

because with you

the sun is always by my side” –A.

 

On the first page.

 

Aulea Lucis Caelum must have shared her husband’s love for poetry, or maybe those volumes belonged to her?

He didn’t go through the drawers, he already felt like he was invading Regis’ privacy by just being in there. He did, however, pocket the book. It wasn’t like either of them would miss it and Noct would probably like to have something of both of his parents’ with him.

Prompto didn’t know too much about Aulea, just that she died fairly soon after Noct was born, and now that, apparently, she loved reading.

Her portrait hung next to one of Noct and Regis when Noct was about five. Her face looked softer than Noct’s, her nose ended in a round, slightly sloped point. But their eyes were the same, midnight blue, almond shaped and slightly tilted upwards on the outer corners.

In the other picture Noctis looked adorable in his sweater vest and mischievous smile that looked much more like Aulea’s than Regis’. Regis looked a lot younger too, less stressed and preoccupied. The one next to that showed all three of them. Aulea was in the front, holding a small bundle in her arms. She was stunning, a study of creamy, slightly tanned skin and jet black hair, done up in an elaborate knot on her head. Her dress was a deep black too but still managed to glitter and shimmer in the picture. Regis stood behind her, his arms wound around her waist, smiling down at his little family. Their smiles radiated warmth and their eyes looked so tender Prompto’s heart ached. Deep down the photographer in him marveled at the lighting and composition of the shot. With all the dark colors it ought to have looked gloomy and harsh but it didn’t. The subtle contrasts of their clothes and their skin was enough to distinguish between their forms but not enough to make them appear separate. It was breathtaking. Maybe Prompto should have conquered his fears and called the number of the royal photographer Regis gave him when he met him the first time. 

 

He forced his eyes away from the pictures to inspect the rest of the room. Aside from the books and general chaos Regis’ room looked like most chambers in the Citadel, it wasn’t bigger or its décor more exaggerated in any way. Prompto let his fingers drift along the soft fabric of the comforter while he looked around for anything else. For all its kingly demure, the room looked a little messy, the bed sheets were tangled and Prompto spotted more than one empty mug on the desk by the window. Apparently Noct got more than his looks from his dad. On the desk were mostly papers, folders and two large monitors that now stared back at him in a dull black. He pulled one forward and glimpsed behind them, inspecting the cables, if they were lucky they could use those and a few other scraps to build a functioning computer. If they were really going to do this government thing they’d need some of those. He added it to his ever growing to do list and went over to inspect the little slim but high, sleek, dark cabinet. After opening the door he spotted a couple of small glasses and a carafe filled with a rich-brown liquid, a sniff confirmed Prompto’s guess, whiskey. He grabbed the bottle and put it next to the poetry volume, they could use all the alcohol they could get their hands on, for the days and nights to come.

 

There wasn’t much else to look at now that he had looked through the books and studied the photographs on the wall and on Regis’ desk.

He stood before another problem. What now? It had been a vague idea in the back of his mind for a while but until now it seemed unimportant. And perhaps it really was, but why not? He’d have to leave a note or something for Iggy and Gladio. Prompto snatched a paper and picked up the first best pen he could find on the cluttered desk. The note was simple, just a “Hey guys, I’m checking out the city, will be back soon”.

Prompto left the note on Noct’s door, he heard their voices from the inside but decided he’d rather go unnoticed. Prompto made his way out of the palace, following the winding corridors and stairways down to the main entrance hall. It was a little more winded than just taking the elevator but he was grateful for any second he could fill with _something_.

 

* * *

 

As he stepped out of the building, the noon sun blinded him. Around him the remnants of their fight were still visible, where the daemons had died only black soot spots were left. He stared at them, willing back the memory before that fight, of the last thing Noct said to them.

 

“I leave it to you. Walk tall, my friends.”

 

He lost count of how many times he’s sighed just today. The time it took him to take the steps down felt longer than he remembered from when they first set out to Altissia.   

Prompto couldn’t lie, Insomnia was nearly unrecognizable to him, even though he grew up here. Streets and shops that used to mark his way were rubble and stone. Prompto glimpsed a few posters and street signs that helped but it was hard to pinpoint where he was. Some houses still stood, albeit battered from the attack and ten years of disuse. A cat peaked at him out of a broken window, Prompto had half a mind to go and get it but thought better of it. If it survived ten years alone here it definitely didn’t need him and probably didn’t want to be domesticated. lt sort of looked like a cat from his old neighborhood, though it was hard to tell black cats apart.

He walked for the better part of an hour and if it hadn’t been for the old postbox and the rusty sign that said “Argentum” right next to it, Prompto might have walked past the half broken structure. One side of the house was completely demolished by the bombs the Niflheim army threw on the city.

He hesitated in front the familiar wooden door, if Prompto listened very carefully he could almost hear Ignis’ voice telling him that setting foot in such an unstable structure was most unwise. Good thing Ignis wasn’t here. He carefully stepped over debris and massive parts of plaster that were bombed off. Prompto wavered before he laid his hand on the door knob. He wanted to see if his parents ever made it back home, or if he would find two other corpses today. His forehead softly touched the rough wood, maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he was better off not knowing. But he lived in uncertainty for more than ten years, perhaps it would ease at least this burden off his mind.

“I’m home.” he whispered as he pushed the door open and stepped over the threshold. It did look almost exactly how he remembered it and also not at all. Everything seemed so much duller and washed out. The floor was filthy and a thick layer of dust and rubble covered everything, not to mention the giant hole in the side of the house and the burn marks. Yet surprisingly enough the table and the chairs were still there, only slightly off-center. He even saw the note he left his parents so long ago. The blue ink on the paper was faded but still readable, and the paper itself was still untouched, tucked under the picture frame with Prompto and his friends wearing the Crownsguard uniforms inside.

He touched his finger to the glass and wiped away a little of the dust. A dry laugh escaped his mouth. It seemed so much louder in the pressing silence all around him.

There was his answer. They never returned home. They weren’t in Insomnia when it fell. They were alive.

Prompto slowly sank to the floor, his knees hitting the hard rubble, but he didn’t feel it. All those years they were alive, yet never called, never so much as sent him a text. They just disappeared. A bitter taste spread in his mouth. Fascinating how they still managed to hurt him with their neglect after more than thirty years.

It was impossible to say if they survived the last ten years in total darkness but he hoped they had. Because one day he would find them and ask them something he hadn’t dared before: Why? Why didn’t they love him? Why adopt a child and then barely even spend time with him? He didn’t even realize he was keeling over until his forehead touched the floor as well. Prompto curled in on himself, his sobs and laughter mixing together into an ugly, desperate hybrid.

 He shouldn’t have come here. He couldn’t bear to lose absolutely everything in a matter of days. A part of his brain reminded him he’d lost that particular part a very long time ago, perhaps never really had it in the first place. The love of a parent. How ironic that people always acted like that above all things was unconditional.

Every memory he’d cherished over the years, the birthday they gifted him his first camera, the vacation they’d taken to the beach, his first memories of hugs and bed time stories, now suddenly was tainted with doubt. Was it then his parents decided he was not worth their efforts? Or perhaps they never wanted him in the first place? They were government employees and obviously knew about the fact that he was from Niflheim. They had to have known he was stolen from an MT facility.

 

Prompto was just so bone weary he might as well have been eighty. Questioning every decision and moment of his past was exhausting.

 

He knew compared to others he was lucky. He was still breathing even if he only had a little under a month of fight training. But he _had_ had fight training, from one of the best fighters of their century on top of that. He had Iggy and Gladio. He had all his other friends. He had a roof over his head. The sun was shining and people, as well as the rest of the world, would soon be prospering again.

But Prompto suspected it would take a lot longer to laugh freely again, to not feel regret with every step he took and with every breath that filled his lungs.

 

There was so much Prompto regretted. He could have tried harder to be Noctis’ friend when they were kids. He could have started training with Gladio and Noct sooner, to not be a burden when they started their journey a lifetime ago. He could have told his friends about his MT brand.

But Noctis was the chosen one, the King of Kings. The only thing they’d had in common was the fact they were both born to die. To sacrifice themselves for a nation they never got the chance to fully understand. But unlike Noctis, Prompto had escaped this fate. It was a cruel twist of irony that let _him_ instead of Noctis live. Yes he did have Iggy and Gladio, but other than that, nothing was holding him here. He wasn't meant to be a leader and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t live up to Noctis’ legacy.

Prompto couldn’t rebuild himself much less the entirety of Eos. Noctis promised him to reunite Niflheim and Lucis, together. This _crazy_ idea was actually within his grasp back then. The mere idea should have sounded ludicrous, Niflheim and Lucis had been at war for decades, and yet he believed it was possible to see them united. He believed every word Noct said.

Prompto later found out from Aranea that Niflheim quickly crumbled after Emperor Aldercap and the rest of the government had died. In those ten years the crystal had had Noctis, Ardyn hadn't cared much what happened to Niflheim now that he had what he wanted.

 

It was there on the ground that he prayed to the Gods again.

_Please, please, please! Give him back, I can’t do this without him. He is all that I have in this world, please._

Prompto knew he had to leave soon, had to support Iggy when he made the radio announcement that would tell the world their king was dead, he looked up and wiped away his tears.

Noctis wasn’t just some king, there was so much more to him. Prompto knew what most people would never know. They would never know that he hated vegetables, or that he made the cutest grumpy faces when he just woke up from a nap, or how kind he was, that he was his best friend.

History would not remember Noctis for being alive but for his death, for his sacrifice, his legacy. They would never know Noctis as anything but the King of Light, and Prompto _hated_ it with every fiber of his being.

 

A cold gust of wind came in from the big hole in the front of the house and ran up his body. It was freezing all of a sudden. Prompto rubbed his arms through the rough fabric of his jacket and rose up. He still wanted to go to his room and bring back a few of his belongings because he would never again return to this place. It wasn’t his home anymore.

The stairs creaked and groaned under his weight but thankfully didn’t break on his way up. His parents’ bedroom was just as eerily untouched as the living room downstairs, Prompto barely even glimpsed into the room. Instead he opened the door leading to his bedroom, and he was hit with memories. This room felt so much smaller than he remembered. Three steps in one direction and then only five in the other and that was it. His bed was made and the few stuffed animals he allowed himself to keep from his childhood were lined up on top of the comforter. One soft whitish, very well loved, dog, a chocobo and a hand-sized monkey. The dog always reminded him of Pryna, perhaps his parents were so annoyed by his constant begging for a dog after he took in Pryna they gave him this instead.

Unlike he did in the Citadel, Prompto first dove into his drawers and dresser. He had to rummage a bit before he found what he was looking for. An old photo album with shots he’d taken with his small digital camera, before Noct and he became friends and before he’d saved enough money to buy his reflex camera. It was a little sad to see how many animals and how few people he’d captured. There was a strong influx of human subjects once he was the prince’s friend. Gladio and Iggy popped up, Glaives and even a few of Regis himself, though those were mostly from a distance in passing.

Another treasure he was glad managed to survive were his school notebooks, the subjects and information themselves were not what Prompto was looking for. The little doodles Noct and he exchanged over the years adorned the margins and sometimes the back of some work sheet.

Noct’s doodles were really bad, like elementary school kid uncoordinated and off, but Prompto loved them nevertheless. He didn’t even notice how a soft smile on his face appeared as he traced the small indents the pencil lines left on the paper.

Prompto spread the relicts around him and continued his search. He uncovered old clothes, comics and a camera lens Noct had gotten him on his 17th birthday but which Prompto decided he wouldn’t need on their journey. He weighed it in his hand and laid it to his left, in the last few years there hadn’t been much he wanted to immortalize. Complete darkness didn’t make for good contrasts anyway.

Now he was surrounded by all the things that were left over from his life before. He was a much different person then, a life time ago he feared two things: the tattoo on his right wrist and the quiet boy from school, and incidentally the crown prince of his country, not liking him. That kid didn’t even know what would happen to his soon to be best friend, to himself and their other best friends.

But would he change anything? Maybe a few things. He’d heed Noct’s words and speak up sooner in school, he’d tell his friends about the circumstances of his birth, at least as best as he could reconstruct himself. Prompto definitely didn’t need a repeat of Ardyn and Gralea, though even that gave him a closer relationship with Aranea. A treacherous voice in his mind supplied that he could have stayed the withdrawn little boy he once was and never talked to Noctis, no matter how many pretty words Luna wrote him. He probably would have died in the attacks on Insomnia right here in this house. A dark part of himself wondered if it would have made a difference. In the grand scheme of things? Probably not.

 

He leaned back against his bed, his head lying on top of the blanket and closed his eyes. He’d been gone for too long so the room didn’t smell like he remembered anymore. It ruined his illusion of his younger self’s everyday life. It was hard to play pretend with all those thoughts buzzing in his brain. Maybe it was high time he faced all of this. Maybe he should have done that ages ago. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

 

Outside the sun filtered through the blinds like it used to do on a fall afternoon. The sun not as high in the sky as it would have been in summer. A great time to take pictures Prompto mused.

He groaned when he got up from his cowered position on the floor and stretched his limps until his joints popped. All this lamenting didn’t do him or anyone else any good. He grabbed the best doodles, his stuffed animals, a couple of his favorite comics and some other stuff. Prompto made his way out of the house, out of the street and back to the palace building that towered over the rest of the city in its center.

 

* * *

 

When Prompto arrived back at the Citadel he really didn’t plan to go to Noctis, but it was what he used to do when he felt sad or just tired of the world. His revelations at home definitely counted to the latter. And on top of that he’d run out of other rooms to go to.

The morgue was so cold a shiver ran down Prompto’s spine as soon as he opened the heavy metal door. It couldn’t have looked much different than it did ten years ago, it was oddly clean and tidy, no scalpel out of place or handprint on the stainless steel cabinets along the walls. Ignis must have been down here while Prompto roamed the rest of the Citadel and Insomnia. He paused and looked down at his feet, still in the dirt-covered boots from their fight and his excursion through town. He felt even more out of place, in his torn uniform and covered in days old sweat.

“Looks like you went where I couldn’t follow.” His voice cut through the silence like a whip, Prompto quietly added “Again.” He took a couple of steps towards the table.

“It’s probably weird that I’m talking to you… or _at_ you, I guess.” He looked down on Noctis’ still body. A white sheet covered him from the waist down, his clothes were gone as were the grime and dirt. His hair was combed back, not unlike the way Regis used to wear his. Prompto didn’t know how or when, but even the gash on Noctis’ chest was sewn shut expertly. He kept a few feet distance between them, his hands hovering by his hips.

“When you first vanished into the Crystal I refused to believe you were gone for good, you know. Why would you need to gather strength away from everything? You already had all the Kings’ souls in that ring. And yeah, I know that you needed to absorb their power into your soul or whatever but it’s still bogus.

And then days passed, weeks, years. How long could it possibly take for you to gather strength? I was so angry at myself, the other guys and you too back then… Gladio and I fought pretty badly, it just wasn’t fair. You’d just promised me to change the world, to unite Niflheim and Lucis. And suddenly you’re just gone. I said some pretty bad stuff to Iggy as well,  and Gladio... you know how he gets when he’s angry.” Prompto bit his lip “Guess I couldn’t always stay upbeat and jovial…it was rough. We lost so many people Noct.” Prompto trailed off and cleared his throat. The truth streamed out of him like an overfull well, seeing Noctis like this again was the last drop.

“I trained like a maniac. Barely slept, ate” he crossed him arms “or talked, for that matter. I know pretty hard to believe, huh?” He waited a moment, half expecting Noct to fill the silence like he used to.

“Maybe, I thought that, if I hunted and killed as many daemons and monsters as I could, you’d return sooner.” A dry laugh escaped Prompto’s mouth, it sounded foreign to his own ears. “Yeah, as if. After six years I just broke down one evening. You had officially been gone for longer than we’d been friends… I was so tired of fighting when there wasn’t even an end in sight. Honestly? I thought about giving up. Every night, or well what counted as bed time I guess, was a fight but I just couldn’t. It was like when you freed me from that metal contraption Ardyn put me in. I couldn’t just die because deep down I knew you would come to me. And you know me, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He cleared his throat “whoa okay, I need to lighten up a bit, huh.” he paused a second before he said

“I found your dad’s room, he has so many photos of you in there.” Prompto bit his bottom lip in thought “And your mom was really beautiful too. You look so much like her-” he stopped and drew in a sharp breath, tears prickling in his eyes. “Okay that was not what I meant with lighting up…” Prompto tried to blink the tears away “I wish I could have met her, she must have been an extraordinary woman. You never really talked about her.” Prompto trailed off and took a  step closer.

“It’s a little embarrassing but before I became your friend I moogled you and your family, which, all things considered, is pretty wild. Who else can just whip out their phone and read every little detail about their crush’s family history? I mean, of course I got Lucian history in school but it’s something else to read where they all came from and what their relationships were. Bet you didn’t know that there was this really obscure Lucian Queen a few hundred years ago, who, apparently, flipped off her court and advisors and lived in the mountains for seven years. She then came back with a chocobo farmer and their child, your great great great great great…, grandmother.”

Prompto imagined Noct’s stifled laugh when he was being silly again and his voice rang in his ears “A chocobo farmer you say? No wonder I’m so great with animals.” If he squinted he could almost see a smile on Noct’s face.

“I envy you in a way. You said you made your peace, but that’s easy for you to say, you’re not the one who has to stick around and carry that weight. But I’m not one to talk… You know, I was told I wouldn’t live every long either. Being a clone and all that messing around with DNA has consequences apparently. The doc said diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases are probable in my future… that could have happened anyway but for me it’s more a question of ‘when’ and not ‘if’. But I do hope I’ll see the next generation grow up happier than we did, that’s all I ask. Maybe also a few more chocobos, that would be nice.” Prompto smiled.

He talked about what else happened in those years Noctis was gone, he talked about Talcott growing taller than him, and the time he spent with Cindy in her garage.

“I should go. Standing at your side for hours… it’s not healthy, not for me at least. It just reminds me of what I lost.” Prompto closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, he stepped back from the table that was now warm to the touch where Prompto had leaned against it.

“See you soon Noct.” And a shiver ran down Prompto’s spine as he turned to leave.

 

* * *

 

After recording the message Iggy had excused himself, not saying where he went but Gladio and Prompto knew better than to stop him.

 

They leaned against each other at the side of Noctis’ bed, Prompto’s head on Gladio’s shoulder and their hands intertwined when Ignis opened the door.

 “We’re here Iggy, by the bed.” Gladio said and Ignis made his way over to them, settling down next to Prompto. Prompto took his hand in his and squeezed it. It was quiet for a long time before Prompto broke the silence.

“Iggy. Can we talk about happens to Noct? With his body I mean.”

“You're wondering whether or not he is to be buried right?” Prompto hummed affirmatively, “I gave it some thought, and, if you two agree, I propose that he is cremated. Noct never liked the catacombs much and he never mentioned a specific place he wanted to be buried at.”

“He told me as long as it was some place sunny he would be fine” Gladio said and Prompto wondered when they'd ever talked about that. Maybe that was what one did while beating someone into a pulp, or “training” as Gladio put it.

“Ah, I thought Noct would like that. Although I don't want to bury him, I want to scatter his ashes over the country with you. Revisit the places he loved and shared with us.” Ignis smiled a little. “It is selfish of me but I want to relive our road trip one last time with all four of us present.”

Gladio and Prompto looked up, both wearing the same stunned expression on their faces. They let a few heartbeats pass in complete silence.

“Gee Iggy, way to make a man cry.” Gladio laughed and blinked the sudden dampness in his eyes away. “But I'm with you, Noct would like this idea, it's just unconventional enough that it would’ve pissed off the council.”

“I'm glad he's not staying under the earth. Like this he’ll be able to be a part of everything.”

The other two hummed in agreement.

“Then it is settled, we leave after the funeral is over, we have a wide distance to cover and we need to return sooner than we like, we did promise to rebuild this world.”

The other two quietly agreed.

“Uhm. I know we haven’t exactly talked about the route yet but I want to visit Niflheim as well. It's where I came from, or at least where I was made… and I never got to see Tenebrae.”

“Prom-” Gladio began but Prompto interrupted him.

“It’s alright guys, I’ve had ten years to come to terms with this. I’m me and that’s all there is to it, Noct made sure I never forget that. And besides, someone has to check and see what’s left of the country if we really want to unite Lucis and Niflheim.”

“Damn, you almost sound like a real adult, kid.”

“Give him a little credit Gladio, he hasn’t been a kid in a very long time.”

“Yeah, I guess so, we all had to grow up sooner or later.” Gladio said wistfully. “Even Iris, that little punk, isn’t a little girl anymore, never saw a better fighter, myself included. Dad would’ve been proud of that.”

Prompto wasn’t sure when he’d last, if ever, heard Gladio talk about his dad. In all the chaos they’d been in after they found out Insomnia had fallen, it was easy to forget that Noctis hadn’t been the only one to lose a parent. He didn’t remember much about Clarus, he had been a tall burly man, much like Gladio, but with a gray, almost white, buzzcut. To be completely honest, he’d been more than a little afraid of Clarus when he’d first met him. But the same was true about Gladio he supposed, and Gladio was one of his best friends now.

“I don’t really know much about your dad, what was he like?”

“Heh, he was tough as nails and stern to a fault. He took his job as shield very seriously.”

“He also was quite the accomplished scientist, before Regis became king. Clarus went to study chemical engineering, he even published a few articles back in the day.” Ignis supplied.

“That’s where he met Iris’ and my mother. She was in the bio labs close by and they started chatting.”

“Wait. Don’t tell me you guys have flower names because your mom was a biologist, that would be just too perfect.”

Gladio hit Prompto upside the head.

“That’s neither here nor there, short stuff.” And Ignis chuckled

“But my parents were good together, balanced each other out and all. She was my dad’s anchor. He’d lived for and served the Kingdom all his life, she was his breath of fresh air. She was a refugee from Galahd and wasn’t impressed by all the royal obligations he had.”

“Truly admirable, Insomnia was not a friendly place for refugees.”

 

“So uhm, while we’re at the topic of parents. When I wrote you that note earlier saying I’d be checking out the city I actually had a goal in mind.”

“You visited you old home didn’t you.” Gladio didn’t so much ask but state, he didn’t look at Prompto. Prompto nodded, looking down on his lap.

“I don’t know what I was expecting but it turns out my parents weren’t in Insomnia when it fell.” Gladio sighed.

“You don’t want to know how many times I pleaded your case with the authorities.”

“You what?!”

“It is true, I was with Gladio trying to move you from those people who obviously didn’t care for you the way they should have. Though being hardly older than you they didn’t spare our words much concern.” Ignis said.

“I can’t believe you guys-“

“We didn’t want to say anything as long as there wasn’t a concrete solution at hand, so in the end we didn’t inform you about our efforts, it would only have hurt you.”

“Did Noct know?”

“No, he didn’t. For the same reason we didn’t tell you. He might have been the prince but the authorities would have not cared about anything he said, your parents were influential diplomats. The only thing we could do was try to get you into the Crownsguard, finally away from them.”

“I wish you would have told me, I always thought no one was seeing me.” There were tears prickling in the corners of his eyes.

“I apologize for that Prompto, we all saw you and tried to help in our own ways. Noctis and you practically lived together in his flat before…everything. I didn’t just cook and care for Noctis and Gladio didn’t just train you as a favor for Noct either.”

Prompto let that settle into his brain before he said,

“I always thought I was the odd one. You three always had a purpose and goals together. You’re all royalty and smart and strong and I’m just me. I started as a failed Nif experiment, not the most glamorous background…”

“You did come from rather unsavory beginnings but look where you are now Prompto.”

“I heard you that night, up on that motel roof with Noct, and he was right. None of us would make time for you if we didn’t want you around, you’re part of this team.”

Prompto hiccupped and pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes, trying to stop them from spilling over.

“Thank you.”

“Nothing to thank for, you are our friend, Prompto. Never forget that.”

 

They talked a little longer about their families, about Ignis’ uncle and his husband, about Gladio’s girlfriend, about their times apart. The minutes ticked by, slowly swallowing them up in the dark of the room until both Gladio and Ignis drifted off to sleep. The moon wasn’t full that night but in the dim light Prompto could still make out the vague forms of the room around him. He glanced at Regis’ sword that leaned against the wall across from the bed, he tried to fight the fatigue but his eyes kept slipping shut.

 _“Please”_ he thought without real conviction, “ _give him back”_ before he drifted off into sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

A biting coldness made Prompto shiver and he blearily opened his eyes. Before him he saw a blindingly white room in a snow storm and he shielded his eyes from the wind. It felt strangely distant and slightly blurry around the edges, like he forgot to wear his contacts. He could make out the snowflakes whirling in the wind before him, be blinked a couple of times before he noticed a silhouette. He inhaled sharply. For a moment he thought he was in Niflheim again, memories of MTs picking him up like a rag doll flooded his mind. Then the snow cleared a little and he realized the form before him was female.

“Prompto Argentum.” The woman called out, her voice echoed in his mind. Prompto took a step back, what was happening?

“You have called out to us, child of Lucis.”

“I have?” Prompto took another half-step back, the snow under his boot scrunched.

“I heard your prayers.”

His eyes grew wide as he finally recognized her. Shiva. The blood in his veins seemed to freeze, he remembered the illustrations in the Cosmology.

“What exactly is it you want me to do?” She asked. Shiva wasn’t much taller than he was in this form, but her snow white skin and eyes were too inhuman to pass as anything but otherworldly.

“Bring him back. Give him the life back he never got to live.” He wasn’t sure how he was even still standing with how badly his legs were shaking.

“I cannot give you what is gone. Noctis’ life was supposed to end when it did.”

“Then why are we here?! Why are you taunting me like this?!” his insides felt raw, he couldn’t do this, not now or ever.

“I am not taunting you, Prompto. I said I cannot return Noctis because his time is spent. _Yours_ is not.”

Prompto’s head snapped up when he understood.

“You can transfer life force.”

“Indeed, I can, but it comes with a great cost child. Your life was not meant to last for a long time, with this sacrifice you two can have ten years each.” Prompto didn’t even think about it before he said:

“Do it. I take the offer.”

“Not only you will suffer great pain if I take those years from you now, think about your other friends, your promise to the world. It is not a decision you should take lightly.” She said, sadness in her voice. Prompto didn’t even fully hear what she said before he asked:

“What about Luna, can you transfer some of my life force to her too?” Shiva looked away.

“It has been too long. Lady Lunafreya’s body is no longer on this earth, she cannot come back.”

“What about-“

“I can only grant you this one wish.” Shiva interrupted him “I can bring back only him. You will have time to think about it for one day. I will return and await your response.”


	2. Chapter 2

Prompto woke with a start, he had slid down in his sleep, his head resting on Iggy’s thigh while the other two men were leaning against each other. The first rays of sunshine glimpsed through the blinds.

Prompto knew what just happened was more than just a dream, it usually was when the Astrals were involved and from what Noct told him about Luna and her function as Oracle, dreams could be a door to their world. He could still feel the snowflakes and the icy wind bite into his skin. He could still hear her voice.

 

“Awake are we?” Ignis murmured, trying not to wake up Gladio. Prompto sat up and rubbed his neck. Sleeping in odd places was a hassle when he was twenty, much less now that he was thirty. The muscles in his back ached and throbbed when he stretched out his limbs.

“Yeah, how long have you been up?”

“For a few hours I believe, it is hard to say without the bustling of the streets to indicate the time.” Prompto didn’t ask how many hours he slept before that.

“I’ll go and see if I can find anything to eat around here, maybe a few plants survived.”

“Very well. I’ll go and figure out what I can salvage from the kitchen.”

 

Prompto made his way outside to the former parks and gardens Insomnia had and gathered mushrooms and other plants that survived.

Just when he returned to the main road leading to the Citadel he heard the faraway sound of an engine, and he turned around. A bright red truck was speeding towards him and Prompto knew to whom it belonged. He spent a few hours himself repairing and hunting down parts for it.

 

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Prompto Argentum, how ya doing small fry? Wanna hitch a ride?” Cindy drawled out of the open window and Prompto grinned.

“If that old thing can handle the weight of my _awesome_ then sure, scoot.” He climbed in next to Cid who was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Hey Cid, didn’t think we’d see each other again so soon.”

“Tch. Couldn’t shake you if I tried, ten years is bound to teach an old man that.”

“Heh, what can I say, Hammerhead always had a special place in my heart.”

“Yeah, yeah, we all know what that means.” And he nudged Prompto in the ribs. He laughed.

“You’re just too irresistible Cid.”

“Pah. You’re forty years too late for that kind of talk kid.” It felt good to have Cid and Cindy back, he’d missed their banter and the little digs. After a few moments of silence Prompto said:

“So I guess you heard.” His voice more serious than before. The smiles on their lips faded.

“Yeah, late last night. We heard from a group of hunters about your radio transmission. I’m so sorry Prom.” Cindy looked over to Prompto “We came here as soon as we could. It’s still chaos everywhere, but people have hope again, they’re trying to get rid of the daemons that are hiding in caves. Your Princey did good.” She took one hand off the steering wheel and patted his knee.

“Reggy would’a been proud of him, didn’t think he’d had it in’em the first time y’all rolled up in Hammerhead.”

“Yeah, well, Noct is-“ Prompto cleared his throat “was always good for surprises.”

 

Cindy and Cid didn’t call him out on the present tense, they knew loss well enough. All of them were lost in thought, Prompto could only guess where their mind took them. The streets flew by as he contemplated what else he could say in a situation like this but he drew a blank.

Once they arrived at the Citadel they went looking for Ignis and Gladio. They found them in the kitchen’s pantry. Gladio getting cans of food off the shelves and reading the labels to Iggy. Most cans were expired by now but they managed to find some jam, dried meats and other conserved foods that were still edible.

 

As soon as Cindy and Cid came into view Gladio got up and hugged both of them.

“I though you two might come here soon, Hammerhead is the closest safe haven around.”

“That and we darn well give a damn about you guys, after so long you should really know that, Iggy. A gal like me wouldn't just open her home to any ol’ runaway.” He chuckled.

“I suppose you wouldn’t. I’m happy you are here.”

“You’ll be even happier to hear we bring food and water with us, had a hunch you lot might be staying a while." She looked around the high ceiling and marble decorations, "It’s quite pretty, I see why Paw-paw’s friend didn’t leave much.”

“The King was a very busy man.”

“Reggy coulda used a break now and then. He looked decades older than he was.”

“So is the burden of a King, keeping the wall up had its cost.”

“Tch.”

Before Iggy could retaliate Prompto interjected.

“Thanks for the food and stuff, we appreciate it.”

“Ya think any more folk is making their way here?” Cindy asked.

“We think some of our other friends might, there will be no traditional funeral but we would like to have some sort of wake with whoever shows up.”

“No funeral?”

“Indeed, we decided to burn Noct’s remains and scatter the ashes.”

“If that’s the case I better get to see what kind of cars are still around for ya road trip. Wanna help me with that, Prom?”

“Uh, sure, if you want.”

“If you don’t mind Cid, we’re still sorting through all this food, you could help me read the labels and put them on the right piles.”

“I’ll go and ready rooms for you guys, if I know my sister at all she’ll be here soon too so we’ll need a couple more rooms anyways.”

“Alright, sounds like a plan. See you later!” Cindy grabbed Prompto’s hand and they took off in what Prompto hoped was the right direction for the parking lot underground.

 

* * *

 

“Sooo, the sun is back and everything is going back to normal huh?”

“Normal. Yeah.” They walked in silence for a couple of steps before Cindy said:

“Listen, Prom, if you need me, I’m always here for you, you know that right?”

“I do Cin, I promise, it’s just been…rough.”

“I know how much you loved him, things are going to suck for a while.” He laughed

“How nice to hear.” Prompto said and Cindy rolled her eyes.

“Hey, don’t be an ass. You know what I mean. It’s alright to hurt, to be a little shit.” She punched his arm. “No one is expecting you to be fine, is what I’m trynna say, so feel free to do what makes ya feel better.”

“I know.” He smiled “But let’s go and see what kind of fancy, decadent cars the King has in his private parking lot.”

“Don’t need to ask me twice.” Cindy said and grinned.

 

After checking out the cars, and there were many, Cindy picked out a black, what else really, limousine with a large trunk that was built only a couple of months prior to the treaty signing and still in pristine condition. If not a little dusty. Once they checked the oil, car battery and tires, Cindy took a look under the hood and checked if the electronics were working properly. Meanwhile Prompto took one tire off another car as spare in case they’d need it on their road trip.

 

After a couple of hours of tinkering Cindy was satisfied with her work and closed the hood with a loud clang.

“Wanna try it out lover boy?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Prompto grinned and opened the driver’s door for her “After you, my lady.” He actually bowed a little like he’d seen Noct’s chauffeur do when Ignis wasn’t the one driving him places.

“You’re makin’ a girl feel _so_ special.” She swooned dramatically and hip checked him before she sat down behind the stirring wheel and beckoned Prompto over to the other side. He followed her and sat down. The interior really was fancy, smooth black leather and polished wood consoles in the sides and front. Prompto didn’t even start to guess for what all the little buttons were. When Cindy started the engine, a soft classical tune came out of the radio, it was a piano piece he knew from Noct and those times he complained about his piano lessons.

 

“Watcha thinkin’ about Prom?” She asked. Prompto glanced at her and sighed.

“Promises.” Cindy raised an eyebrow in question, “Did you know I’ve known Noctis for a very long time, almost all my life? But we didn’t really become friends until high school. And then that was only because of the promise I made to Lady Lunafreya.”

“What kind of promise?”

”I promised to be ever at Noctis’ side.” A promise that sounded easier to keep than it turned out to be.

“Did you ever meet her?”

“Not really… I caught a glimpse of her in Altissa but we hadn’t had a chance to talk then and well… after that...” he trailed off. _I’m_ _not sure I ever told him about my promise to Luna…_

 

“But I’m glad I got to see her at all, I owe her a lot. She pushed me to finally approach Noct. I’d change a lot of things that happened in the past if I could. We both were lonely kids who could use a friend.”

“You did eventually find each other, that’s what counts.” Cindy smiled encouragingly.

Prompto leaned back in his seat. The sky in front of them was tinted in a soft orange color, it wouldn’t take long for the sun to set now.

Driving with Cindy like this wasn’t new to him, during his time at Hammerhead they went out for missions sometimes. But they usually stuck to lighthearted chatting and more serious planning. In their years living together in Hammerhead Prompto barely talked about Noct or his past. He remembered his dream and the deal Shiva offered him. Maybe he should use the time he had left to be honest with her.

 

“I have to tell you something Cin…”

“Hm? What is it?” She kept her eyes on the road but slightly turned her head in his direction.

“It never really came up, and frankly, I didn’t want to talk about it, but it feels like something big that you don’t know about me.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“I told you about my adoptive parents, right?”

“Yeah you mentioned they were away for work a lot.”

“They were… it turns out they’re big jerks, maybe I’ll tell you about that later. But what I actually want to talk about is that I met my biological father ten years ago, in… Gralea.”

“The Niflheim capital?” Her brows were knit in confusion.

“Yup. It turns out I’m from Niflheim, or at least I was born there.” He swallowed before he added “And if that wasn’t crazy enough for you, yours truly is an MT, or I was on my best way when someone from Lucis stole me from the facility.”

“Prom, what are you talking about?”

“I know, pretty wild, huh? It’s true though. I found out when Ardyn kidnapped me.” She still looked dubious so he took off his bracelet and showed her his right wrist. Cindy stared at it, her eyes wide.

“Is this … a barcode?”

“Yes, had that thing as long as I can remember. I didn’t know what it was, my parents just told me to keep it covered. It took me a while but I started to puzzle things together over the years and I couldn’t really tell anyone. Niffs aren’t exactly well liked in Eos. Even after Noct disappeared  and everything fell apart I thought it would be best to keep it a secret.”

“Do the others know?”

“Yeah, I told them just before Noct vanished into the crystal. I thought he and my other friends would hate me when they heard about it. An MT in the Crownsguard, and even better the crown prince’s best friend. But the first thing Noctis did was to say that we should break down the borders and come together. That where I came from didn’t matter. He didn’t show kindness and affection easily, but I believe that he meant it. And I made another promise to stand by him.” Prompto leaned his chin against the palm of his hand and watched the city move by.

“You know that this isn’t changing anything Prom, not for me or anyone else who knows you. Your Prince was right about that.”

“Thanks Cindy, you’d think that message has sunken in by now but it’s still good to hear it.”

“I’ll tell you as many times as you need hon.”

 

They stayed quiet for a while, the only sound around them were their quiet breaths and the ever present piano music in the background.

 

“If you were offered a way to bring back your parents, would you?” Prompto kept looking out of the window.

“A way? What d’ya mean?” she sounded confused at the sudden change of subject.

“Let’s say, the Gods, for whatever reason, decided to offer you a deal, would you take it?”

“That depends on the deal I’d say.”

“They could return but the time you have left gets cut in half.”

“Hmm. My parents have been gone for half my life now, Prom. It hurt but it gets better. Though we weren’t on the best terms when they died, I’d want to apologize.”

“What for?”

“For runnin’ away. They didn’t understand why their ‘son’ suddenly wanted to be their daughter. It’d be nice to see them one last time and show them how much I’ve grown.”

Prompto swallowed the ‘I’m sorry’, Cindy didn’t like people pitying her.

“Before they passed, Paw-paw talked to them and they wanted to meet up and figure it out with me, but they never came back from one of their hunts.” Cindy said, gazing at the sunset before them. Prompto took her hand over the stick and squeezed it.

“I think they’d be proud of you.”

“Thanks.” She slightly smiled. “I don’t think I’d take that deal. Too much has changed since they died, and Paw-paw needs me, Hammerhead needs me.”

“But what if they need him more?” Prompto asked and Cindy poked him in the cheek with her pointer finger.

“Prom, please, don’t hurt yourself with this hypothetical stuff. I need you, Gladio, Ignis, we all need you. His highness would not approve of talk like that. He’s your best friend. He wouldn’t want to rob you of the time you have left.”

“But he could have done so much more if only he’d had time.” A tear slid down his cheek and the sun vanished behind the wall.

They drove around in silence for a couple of minutes before Cindy said:

“We should head back, the others are probably wondering where we are.”

“Yeah, you’re right, the car seems to be in mint condition anyways.”

 

While they were gone Cor, Talcott, Monica and Iris had arrived at the Citadel and there was a big commotion of greetings but also tears when Gladio and Ignis confirmed what they’d heard on the radio. Prompto greeted all of them with the usual grandeur but silently slipped away when everyone around him started talking about Noct and what they would do now that he was gone.

 

A little later Cindy found him on the roof of the Citadel, darkness completely enveloping him. He sat on the balcony wall, feet dangling off the edge.

“There you are, been looking for ya forever.” She sat down next to him and nudged his ribs.

“Yeah I needed some alone time to think things over.”

“As long as you don’t vanish too deep into that head of yours.”

“Me? Nah, just the usual stuff. What is a little anxiety and existential dread before dinner.”

“No need to play strong for my sake Prom.” She rolled her eyes.

“Having you guys here is helping a lot with that, with just Iggy and Gladio around, there are too many memories coming back.”

“While we’re talking about Iggy he actually sent me to fetch you, he cooked and you look one gust of wind away from being blown off this roof.”

“Are you implying I’m scrawny? How rude, look at those guns.” He flexed and grinned.

“I’m swooning. But seriously, let’s get inside, the food is getting cold.”

 

As they stood up Prompto spotted a bright stream of light approaching from the distance. He believed he could make out a person riding on a motor bike.

“Hey, do you see that?” Prompto gestured at the approaching vehicle.

“Yeah, you know who that might be?”

“I think I might.” He said and grinned. “C’mon, if I’m right, I definitely want to greet her at the door.”

They made their way down running, Prompto grabbing Cindy by her hand and dragging her along. They skirted to a halt right when a woman in a dark red get up put her kick stand down with impeccable black high-heeled leather boots. Prompto grinned from ear to ear.

“Heya Aranea!” He called out to her at the bottom of the steps. She took off her helmet and shook her braids loose before she walked up the stairs.

“Thought I’d see you here, kiddo.” She flicked his nose and Prompto let her, rubbing it as they made their way back inside. “Cindy.” She greeted her with her usual brash tone and Cindy nodded.

“It’s been too long, how are the Biggs and Wedge? How’s it going up north?”

“Ah, the same old really, haven’t seen anyone for like a month up there, and suddenly that old sky lit up and I heard Specs’ message on the radio.”

“And because you’re you, you rushed over to our aid.”

“What can I say, I always had a weakness for damsels in distress like you three. You can use all the help you can get.” She grinned and hugged Prompto close, maybe a little tighter than was strictly necessary but Prompto hugged her back just as fiercely. He’d missed her, over the years they’d only seen each other a couple of times but he never forgot what she did for him in Gralea.

The others trickled into the entrance hall when they heard the voices in the main hall and greeted Aranea. She gave Iggy and Gladio hugs as well and introduced herself to the others she didn’t know.

They settled down in one of the larger suites Gladio modified to look like a giant sea of mattresses for their guests. It was downright cozy with the mattresses on the floor and pillows and blankets lined up on them. Aranea laid down her traveling gear on a random mattress and sat down on its edge, looking expectantly at the others.

“What are you waiting for, I guess this set up was meant for a pajama party, don’t leave a girl hanging.”

They all gathered into the huge room with a plate of food and started eating.

“So. What’s the plan from here on?” Aranea asked, stirring her food in thought.

“We were wondering the same thing. We will need to rebuild the infrastructure and communication channels first and foremost, everything else like an election or whatever else the people decide on comes after that.”

“You think they’ll come back here?”

“Some will, Insomnia was the capitol and a rather big city. There have to be refugees on their way back home.” Gladio supplied.

“Makes sense.” Aranea agreed.

“Did you check the city for left over daemons yet?” Cor asked, his voice serious.

Prompto shrugged and Gladio said:

“Haven’t had the chance yet but with you guys here we can start as soon as the funeral is over.” A deep silence fell over the room.

“So there will be a funeral?” Iris asked.

“We aren’t quite sure how to proceed with all that to be honest. We don’t know how many people will arrive or when, but a wake is what we had in mind.” Ignis said.

“Though I think Noct would prefer a private affair. He couldn’t stand the spotlight.” Prompto said.

“Hah. A little ironic don’t you think? He’ll be the King of Light in the future history books, the guy who literally brought back the sun.” Aranea said.

“Yes, I’m sure he could appreciate the irony in all that.” Ignis smiled.

 

Once they finished their meal Ignis asked “I found some cooking sherry in the kitchen, care for a round everyone?”

“Care? Why, Iggy you know me, cooking sherry is my favourite beverage.” Gladio teased, they let glasses and the bottle make a round.

“If the best thing you had in ten years is Cid’s really really horrible moon shine, you’d take anything” Prompto said, his expression playful.

“Hey kid, you didn’t complain about it on your birthday parties and when you gobbled it up with Cindy afterhours.”

There were wolf whistles and howls.

“Oh stop it you, Prom is too loyal for that. I know because I tried.” Cindy said and flung an arm around Prompto’s neck, the rest cheered and clapped.

“And I was going to share the whiskey I found in Regis’ room with you guys, for shame!” but they only snickered at Prompto’s playful outrage.

“Now you got to tell that story Cin!” Iris cheered.

“Nooooo Cindy, don’t tell that story, it’s been ages, how long are you going to hold that against meeee?” Prompto whined and took a sip from his glass. Cooking sherry should really only be used for cooking.

“Ohh believe me, I’ll tell that story until the day you die.”

“Now I’m really curious.” Iris said, Gladio looked about two seconds away from holding Iris’ ears closed.

“It was a cold night, I was all by my lonesome, craving some company and there he was, my knight in shining armour, just coming back from a hunt, caked in dirt, blood and sweat, just how I like ‘em.” Cindy winked at Prompto who hid his face behind his hands.

“I’m not drunk enough for this.”

“So I pulled out all my charms, the cleavage, the hips swinging, the whole deal. Laid it down real thick. Wanna know what he did?”

“Cindyyyyyyy.”

“I told him I wouldn’t mind the company, ‘ _if he knew what I meant_ ’.” She wiggled her eyebrows and Prompto groaned once more.

“Listen, I almost died that day, was slightly poisoned and haven’t had anyone hit on me in years. Excuse me if I was a little slow.”

“Anyways, loverboy over there hugged me when I went for a smooch and then proceeded to cuddle me and fall asleep as soon as I managed to manoeuvre him over to the bed. I thought he’d get the hint then but nope.” The laughter was rambunctious, Iris laughed so hard she was doubled over.

“Yeah, yeah laugh all you want but did you live through being Noct’s messenger boy all through high school? Best of all was, he though people were interested in _me_. Can you believe that? Once he wanted to give that girl and me some ‘privacy’ and went away for the rest of the break. I’ve never seen someone glare at me harder _EVER_ and I was captured by Ardyn, a literal vengeful immortal out to destroy the world.”

“But the incident with Cindy was hardly the first time you didn’t get the social cues of flirting.” Ignis remarked “Remember Lestallum and the Assassins Festival? Noct told me three men were openly admiring you right in front of you.”

“What?! He never told me any of that.” Prompto was scandalized.

“I wonder why that was.” Ignis said with a smirk and took a sip of his drink.

“Okay enough embarrassing stories about me. I can’t be the only one with skeletons in my closet.”

“Gladdy, why don’t you tell ‘em about that scar on the back of your thigh, the long one.” Gladio laughed and lightly flicked Iris’ ear before she could duck away.

“I’m just glad I could bullshit the infirmary on how I got that wound. Dad and Cor saw right through me though. They gave me shit for it for weeks.” Cor didn’t say anything and just smirked into his drink, as he fondly remembered that particular instance.

“Okay but how did you get it big guy?” Cid asked.

“Well. Prince Charmless and I trained, all was good, he actually managed to land a hit, he then went to goof off in the arcades with that clown” he gestured to Prompto and rubbed the stubble on his chin “Long story short, I sat down on one of my switch blades.”

Cid let out a loud laugh.

“Clarus wasn’t better, believe me, he once tried to juggle with his knives and cut open his hands, that idiot. Tried to impress some girl with it in town, she wasn’t too impressed when Reggy had to rush over with a potion though.”

 

“My uncle once told me Aulea was a bit of a rebel in her youth too, and the one argument that pushed her to accept Regis’ dating proposal was the fact that she was now allowed to wear all black.” Ignis smiled at the memory.

“You mean to tell me she was a goth. Our queen. Noct’s mom. A goth. WHY hasn’t anyone told me before, that explains so much about Noct and his sense of fashion. So many missed opportunities.” Prompto had raised his hands to the sky and scowled at the ceiling. 

“Says the guy who wore two different kinds of plaid, a geometric shirt, leopard print jeans and a sleeveless jean vest for _years_.”

“At least I don’t iron my socks Iggy.”

“He irons more than his just socks, believe me… Have you ever visited on Sundays?”

“No… those were holy, not even Noct was allowed to disturb him on that day.”

“Sundays were for ironing his laundry.” Gladio said and shot Prompto a meaningful look, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

“I believe that is quite enough Gladio. It is not nice to bring up someone else’s dirty laundry.” Prompto groaned but couldn’t hide his smile.

“I see the puns are still going strong Specs.” Iggy smirked into his sherry and Cindy chimed in:

“I’ve got an idea, let’s play something if we’re already talking about embarrassing stuff. _Never have I ever_.”

“Oh gods, we’re going to die.” Prompto let himself fall backwards onto the mattress.

“Cindy, my big brother is here, Talcott is what? Like twelve-“ at which Talcott gawked “Hey I’m eightteen!” –“AND YOUR GRANDFATHER is sitting right there.” Iris pointed at Cid, Cindy only shrugged and they both ignored Talcott’s interjection.

“He knows what I’m about.” And both Cid and Cindy laughed and high-fived.

“Where do you think she got it from?”

Prompto really didn’t want to think too deeply about Cid’s wild past thank you very much.

“Oh! I have a good one to start with. Never have I ever injured myself while trying to impress someone I was interested in.” Cindy said.

Prompto, Cor, Gladio and Iris took a sip.

“I’m not surprised about Prompto, but I definitely want to hear about Iris and Cor.”

“Well. There was this hunter I was interested in and long story short I jumped off a small building trying to hit a daemonized coeurl, really cool and impressive like in the movies but it moved in the last second and sprained my wrist trying to land.” Gladio tsk’ed.

“I thought I’d trained you better than this Iris.” She just rolled her eyes.

“Switchblades, Gladdy. Switchblades.”

“What about you Cor?” Talcott asked.

“No comment.”

“Oh Cor, don’t be like that, you can’t be the only one without embarrassing stories here.” Prompto said.

“Fine. When I was sixteen I walked into a door and had a bruise on my forehead for a couple of days because I wanted to impress a friend.” No matter how hard they pressed Cor didn’t reveal his mystery friend’s identity.

 

“Never have I ever done pictures in underwear and nothing else.” Iris suggested, everyone except Talcott and Cor took a sip.

“Well, well, well, Prompto care to elaborate for whom those pictures were?” Gladio asked.

“Listen, not every semi-nude has to be for someone, I took those to motivate myself to get fitter when I was like thirteen.”

“Yikes, not the sexy confession I was hoping for.”

“I get you Prom, I like to take pics just because I feel good in my body that day, nothing raunchy about that.” Cindy said and petted his shoulder.

 

When it was Gladio’s turn he had the dirties, smuggest grin on his face.

“Never have I ever worn an elephant thong.” There was absolute silence until Ignis sighed and took a sip. Prompto felt like he might have gotten whiplash from how fast he turned his head in Ignis’ direction. Laughter erupted from the whole room and everyone waited for the story behind that one.

“I’m so conflicted right now. On the one hand I’m very curious because ‘why’ and on the other hand I’m just like, do I really want to know? You feel me?” Iris asked, not really addressing anybody.

“If you really must know, Gladio over there was the one who gifted it to me in the first place, a practical joke on his part for my twentieth birthday.”

“Yeah but I didn’t make you wear it.”

“It was once when I was so busy with Noct and my other duties laundry piled up and it was the last… undergarment I had, so naturally I put it on and washed the rest of my clothes. That was when Gladio decided he absolutely needed to speak to me in person about a ‘life-or-death’ situation as he phrased it.”

“I don’t even remember what it was about, Iggy in a skimpy thong is too strongly ingrained in my brain. It repressed all other memories of that day.”

 

They continued to bicker like this for another couple of minutes before it was Talcott’s turn and then Cor’s and the others’ until they were through once. Prompto kept quiet for most of the game, drinking when it was his turn or chiming in when someone was egging him on but he was lost in thought.

It had been too long since they all came together like this and had fun but Prompto was too keenly aware of the empty space next to him where Noct would sit. With each new question Prompto was wondering if Noctis would have had to drink. Not about the elephant thong though, he was fairly sure Noct’s closet was filled with black boxer briefs through and through. But what about the other questions? He felt heat rise up to his cheeks when he considered the possibility of photos of Noct in nothing but said black briefs, Prompto discreetly hid his red face behind another sip of sherry. But it didn’t take long for him to chastise himself, Noct was a hero, a hero who lay dead just a couple of stories deeper. He was dead while they were laughing and having a good time. Prompto felt a little nauseated. Like they didn’t value his sacrifice, although he knew Noct wouldn’t have minded his friends being happy together instead of being miserable. But the guilt was hard to shake, so he sat in silence, excusing himself with a “I can’t think of anything” when it was his turn to give a prompt.

After a while Prompto leaned over to Iggy and said:

“I’ll be right back, nature is calling, do you mind taking over for me? Thanks.”

 

Prompto quietly closed the door behind him. He closed hs eyes and sunk against the wall beside the door. He needed to breathe. He needed space. The voices behind him were still clearly audible but much less jarring for him somehow, maybe some quiet would be best. He didn’t notice the door opening.

 

Aranea caught him before he turned to the corridor leading to Noct’s old room and dragged him against the nearest wall.

“What the hell is up with you?” she asked accusingly.

“What do you mean?”

“You might fool the others, they’re both too grieved to notice, but you can’t bullshit me, I’ve seen you like this before so don’t you dare say it’s nothing.”

“My best friend just died, cut me some slack!” Prompto snarled and slapped her hand away

“Oh please.” Aranea rolled her eyes “You’re not exactly the best actor around. You’re hiding something, this is not the usual grieving. I know how that looks, I’ve seen it often enough up North in the last ten years. Whatever it is you’re hiding, it’s important enough to have you distracted at your so called best friend’s wake,” He looked away. “Gotcha. Now you better tell me what’s up.”

“I- it’s kind of a difficult story.”

“I have nothing but time.”

“Ha. I can’t guarantee it makes a lot of sense, but I was offered a deal.” Aranea raised one eyebrow

“What kind of deal?”

“To bring Noctis back.” She started at him.

“What are you talking about.” She said, her voice flat.

“I saw Shiva in a dream and she said she could revive him.” Prompto knew he sounded absolutely crazy.

“Idiot!” she hit him upside the head “Why the hell would anyone offer you something like that? Gods don’t do anything just out of kindness!”

“I don’t know! Ask Shiva not me! I’m not about to start asking questions when a goddess decides to work a miracle.”

“What. is. the. price.”

“Who says there has to be a price?” She shot him a stern look “Okay fine, there is a price.”

“Prompto I swear to the gods if you don’t speak right now I-“

“The price is time.”

“Time? What the hell does that mean?”

“Shiva said she can transfer life force from me to him.”

“And the lovesick idiot you are you said yes.” She sighed and hit him again. “How many damn times do I have to save your ass before you realize you’re important too?! I’m willing to bet your Prince Charming and the rest of the peanut gallery would not be happy with that.” He sighed.

“I’m doing this for all of us. The world needs their king, not some random guy with good intentions.”

“Sit. Your. Ass. Down. I’m gonna say this only once so you better listen. You think you don’t count? Ask all the people you saved from daemons and monsters, see if they agree. Imagine Ignis and Gladio losing another brother, what about Cindy? Iris? What about me? I’m not letting you walk down that road.”

“You can’t stop me Aranea, I have to do this.” He added a quiet: “I’m sorry...” Prompto stared at the ground to his side.

“But I can damn well try, you oaf.”

“You wouldn’t understand you don’t have any friends!” Prompto regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. She looked at him like he’d slapped her in the face, or worse. A slap in the face probably wouldn’t have phased her. “Aranea-“

“Fine. Do what you want. I was stupid enough to think _we_ were friends.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He fucked up royally.

“Aranea, please I-“ but she already turned on her heels and walked in the opposite direction of the others, towards the unlit hallways leading outside. Prompto stumbled towards the wall and sank down until his forehead touched his knees.

He shouldn’t have said that.

He knew she was right about Iggy and Gladio and the rest but he also knew they would need Noct more than him in the future ahead of them.

It warmed his heart to know they cared, that they loved and respected him for who and what he was. And what else could he want? He’d led a good life. Sure there were a lot of downs but they all paled in comparison to the ups. To the time they shared on the road, to his time in high school, to his training, to long nights of video games and greasy snacks, to the hours he spent photographing the beauty of this planet.

But his choice was obvious.

He didn’t return to the others, he had things to do before he went to sleep and made his decision final. In Regis’ room he found some paper and pens and started writing. He wrote letters to all of them, the longest ones were the ones for Ignis, Gladio and Aranea, the latter was a long apology for what he said. But he didn’t apologize for what he was about to do, to none of them.

His last letter was difficult because he was addressing someone he never actually met in person, Luna.

It felt only right to write to her at least once, perhaps Noct would to some magic mumbo jumbo and let Umbra do his thing and deliver it to the after world. If Shiva could revive dead people a magic dog could deliver a letter to one.

 

He smiled as he put the pen on the paper and began to write.

 

When he finished writing he returned to Noct’s room where he stashed his photos and went through each and every one of them. He picked one picture for each of them and sealed it in with their letters. Prompto hid them in his bag, they’d find them sooner or later, perhaps later would be better. He couldn’t imagine they’d have too many nice words for him after they figured out they’d have a different body to take care of.

 

Prompto grabbed his jacket and a pillow off the couch and lay down by the window, he felt the cold coming in waves from the glass in front of him. He touched his fore and middle finger to the glass and let the coldness wander through his system. He traced the skyline and smiled. He could still hear the laughter and loud voices indistinctly from a few rooms down.

 

After a while the voices grew quieter and Prompto heard the door open and Ignis and Gladio whisper to each other. He was turned away from them and consciously slowed his breathing. He didn’t want to tell them why he vanished in the middle of the game. Or anything that happened after we walked out of that room. They settled down without trying to ‘wake’ him.

 

Sleep did not come easy to him, his pulse quickened whenever he closed his eyes, almost as if his heart knew what he was about to do. But the day’s hard work, the talk with Cindy and the fight with Aranea exhausted him, his body was weary and sluggish. He listened to the quiet huffs around him and matched their slow breathing, soon enough, he slipped away.

 

* * *

 

The dreamscape was not quite like the night before. Instead of a white room Prompto found himself in a lush garden, behind him was a house with tall windows and elegant flowers adorning the doors.

“Where am I?”

“This was Lady Lunafreya’s home in Tenebrae, I served her here as Gentiana.” Prompto looked around in awe and spotted a pretty woman with long dark hair and a formal black dress standing by one the of the flower beds. His fingers itched for his camera, everything around here looked like the perfect photo op.

“It’s beautiful. I never got the chance to see Tenebrae before the starscourge took over.”  

“I think so too, I always loved Tenebrae best of all the nations in Eos.” She said, looking at the birds flying overhead.

“Lady Shiva, might I ask why you’re doing this?” He hastily added, “Not that I’m complaining! Totally not complaining!”

Shiva smiled and opened her eyes.

“Why? For what else but love, my dear Prompto.”

“ _Love_? For _me_?” He looked at her wide-eyed. She chuckled.

“Yes, for you too. But, to be honest, I am doing this also for Lady Lunafreya. She wanted nothing more in life than to see Noctis smile and happy. You made him both.” Prompto blushed and scratched his cheek.

“You think so?”

“I know so, Gods and Goddesses have a way of knowing things.”  

“Heh, thanks for saying that.”

“It’s the truth.”

Prompto didn’t know how to breach the subject now that he was here but Shiva was probably waiting, she must have had more important things to do than wait from him to gather his courage.

 

He didn’t look at her when he said:

“I want you to give Noct my twenty years.” Shiva knelt down and picked a blue flower and held it out to him.

“You will die Prompto.” she said. Prompto looked down to her hand and smiled, it was the happiest he had been since he saw Noct emerge from behind Talcott’s truck.

“I know.” And he took the delicate flower. It was a Sylleblossom. Noct told him one it was Luna’s favorite flower.

“I have loved too, dear, a long time ago. It was a destructive love.” She turned away from him “Gods are not meant to experience feelings the same way humans do. I let it destroy too much, do not repeat my mistake, Prompto. Noctis would not thank you for sacrificing everything for him.”

He knew it was true but the world needed Noctis more than it did Prompto. It was for the good of them all. Yet a small part of him wished for just a little bit more time, just to see him one last time. He clenched the fist that wasn’t holding the flower. Maybe he could ask for one last self-indulgence.

“Give me one day then and take the rest for him. I want to explain and tell him how I feel. One day is enough for me.” It had to be.

 

Shiva did not reply to that and Prompto felt himself slowly slipping back to consciousness. When he woke up he held that same Sylleblossom in his hand.

 

* * *

 

In his first moments of consciousness he didn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of that flower in his hand. He looked at it, his eyes still readjusting to the light room. As soon as the world and what happened in his dream started to puzzle themselves together in his head, his eyes widened and he sucked in what felt like a cubic ton of air. He sat up from his makeshift bed and his chest heaved.

 _Noct_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I decided to split the chapter into 3 parts instead of 2 but I promise the next chapter is going to be the final one.
> 
> all hamilton references are intentional
> 
> tell me what you think! I just finished episode ignis and I'm so Tender rn


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> previously: 
> 
> In his first moments of consciousness he didn’t fully comprehend the magnitude of that flower in his hand. He looked at it, his eyes still readjusting to the light room. As soon as the world and what happened in his dream started to puzzle themselves together in his head, his eyes widened and he sucked in what felt like a cubic ton of air. He sat up from his makeshift bed and his chest heaved.
> 
> Noct.

He kicked away his jacket and sped down the room, out of the door, down the hallway and the stairs. Suddenly he as thankful he didn’t take off his boots the night before. He was too impatient to wait for the elevator. He had to know if it worked, if Noct was back. He had to be, Shia wouldn’t be this cruel, it had to have worked.

He skittered to a halt before the morgue, his chest heaving and gulping in breaths. His heart seemed to run a mile a second. Now that he was here he suddenly felt uncertain, what if it hadn’t worked. What if it was all for nothing? What if he hoped for nothing? His forehead touched the door and he waited for a couple of heartbeats before he pushed it open.

It was just as heavy as the day before and he felt like he pushed not only this door open but pushed the impossible out of the way. Prompto managed to open the door, he stumbled into the room, his eyes wide in anticipation.

The lights were off and Prompto hastily flipped the switch, the neon light slowly flickering to life above him. He held his breath as he slowly, deliberately walked over to Noct.

 

He still laid there, completely unmoving and pale as the moon, the wound stark against his skin in its red color. Prompto carefully touched Noct’s chest where his heart should be beating, his fingers were shaking. He couldn’t feel anything. Nothing. There was no heartbeat. The skin under his fingers was hard and cold, so unlike how he remembered Noct’s chest from the few times he’d had indulged and leaned against him when they played video games or watched a movie late into the night. He laughed and had to suppress his tears.

Of course it didn’t work. Noct was dead for gods’ sake. Dead people don’t come back. Suddenly Prompto felt silly for ever even _entertaining_ the idea that he might return. He was the King of Light, he followed his destiny and was done here.

Prompto’s dreams were nothing but dreams, he wasn’t the oracle or of magical blood. Why would Shiva bother with him? It was too good to be true anyway.

He leaned over Noct’s chest and just rested his forehead there and closed his eyes. He didn’t smell like Noct anymore either. His scent washed away with the grime and blood that had covered him.

Prompto exhaled slowly, trying to even out his breaths. At least now Aranea couldn’t be mad at him anymore and he’d have the chance to apologize in person. And the others would be none the wiser. They’d continue the way they’d planned all along. Ignis proposed to get on the road tomorrow while Cor and the others stayed here delegating the arrivers.

 

While thinking about all that he’d kept his eyes closed and didn’t notice how the hue of Noct’s skin changed, that he color in his lips and cheeks slowly returned. He didn’t notice the soft breath that left his nostrils.

Prompto didn’t notice time slip away or the miniscule movement of the chest under his head either. He was too lost in though. He was still fighting the tears threatening to spill over but he was so tired of crying, so tired of everything.

 

Prompto thought his heart might stop as he heard a sharp intake of breath and felt a steady beat under his skin.

His head shot up and stared down at Noct’s heaving chest and wide open, blood-shot eyes.

“Noct!” he shouted and accidentally threw over the table that carried the scalpels in his haste. He didn’t even notice the loud clang when they fell on the ground. Prompto stared at him in disbelieve for a moment before he slung his arms around Noctis’ torso and sobbed. He could take tears of happiness he thought idly, a grin slowly spreading over his face. His ears were pressed against the juncture between Noct’s neck and collar bones. He could hear a frantic heartbeat. It was the best thing he’d ever heard. Classes better than any band in his opinion.

He felt Noct gulping and gasping out raspy breaths.

“Wha-“ his voice sounded hoarse and was barely above a whisper “What are you doing here Prompto?” Prompto let go and stared at his face, still not believing this was real. He laughed and more tears spilled down his cheeks but he was too busy staring to wipe them away.

“You’re back Noct, you came back.” Now that Prompto wasn’t touching Noctis anymore his hands were curling and uncurling at his sides. He missed Noctis so much.

“I don’t understand. Back? You’re dead? Where is Luna?” He looked around the room, not understanding where he was.

“I’m not dead, Noct. You’re alive.”

“I’m alive…” he trailed off. “How am I alive? I know I died, I was on the other side. I saw my dad.” His eyebrows were drawn together and he was focused on his hand before his face. He turned it and clenched it, still not believing it was his.

“What does it matter? You’re back here. You got a second chance.” Prompto barely felt his cheeks from as hard as he was smiling. _LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE._ The ever helpful voice at the back of his mind reminded him.

Noctis looked at him like he was seeing Prompto for the first time.

“Prompto, how am I here?”

“Uhm-“ Prompto was saved by Iris stepping through the door.

“Prom? Are you down here? Gla-” She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the two men before them. Prompto had never seen her so pale and completely speechless.

“Noctis.” Her eyes were watering. “Noctis!” She screamed, running through the room and flinging her arms around his shoulders, she was sobbing and shouted “Gladio! Everyone come down here! Quick!”

Prompto looked at them, Noct was still shell-shocked, goose bumps travelling down his skin. The thin white blanket over his lap and the metal table under him had to be stone cold on his slowly heating skin. Prompto made a mental note to ask Ignis if they had coffee or tea, or best of all hot chocolate. If anyone deserved that it was their King, who’d just successfully come back from the dead. Prompto wiped his tears away.

 

* * *

 

He heard footsteps thundering down the stairs. Gladio definitely had heard his sister’s call and his big brother senses kicked in. To be fair, she had sounded a little freaked out, okay, a lot freaked out. Noct coughed and Iris let him go.

“I can’t believe this, I thought you were dead.” Iris cried.

“I was.”

“But how can you be here then?”

“I don’t know, one moment I was with Luna and the next I woke up here with Prom.” He shot Prompto a heavy look.

“Iris!” Gladio stormed into the room, his sword at his side and he was panting from sprinting down here. Cor and Talcott were close behind him, also carrying their weapons, ready for a fight.

“Wha- Noct?” He stared at the three, unbelieving. A few seconds passed in complete silence. Gladio’s voice was a whisper when he said, “But you were dead. I stitched your wound shut, your heart wasn’t beating anymore. How can this be?” His eyes were wide as saucers and his sword arm was lowered. Noctis shrugged.

“I don’t know either.”

“Come here, I’m so glad you’re back you bastard. How can you scare us like this?” He dropped his sword, crossed the room and hugged him to his chest.

“I didn’t mean to.” Noctis’ voice was muffled.

Cor and Talcott still stood there frozen, not comprehending what they were seeing.

Ignis and the rest followed and stopped just as suddenly in the door.

“What is happening?” Ignis asked, unsure what to make of the heavy silence.

“Hey, Iggy.” Noct said, drawing the sheet around his shoulders to starve off the cold at least a little.

“Noct?” Ignis sounded unbelieving, for the first time in years he felt unsure of his hearing.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Noct studied Ignis’ face going through confussion to absolute, unadulterated joy. Prompto had never seen him smile like this in his life.

“Noct.” Ignis simply said and crossed the room before him, he halted before the table and hesitated, before he reached out one hand to touch his shoulder. Noct guided his hand up towards his face.

“It’s really me, Iggy.” Ignis’ hands carefully traced his cheeks, his nose and eyebrows.

“Noct.” He breathed and let his forehead rest against Noctis’. “I think a celebration is in order. Let’s stop the radio transmission. The King lives.”

“The King lives.” Noctis agreed.

Gladio shrugged off his jacket and handed it to Noct, whose shivering became worse with every moment.

“Thanks.” He pulled his arms though the too long sleeves and closed the front, the white sheet securely slung around his waist. “You don’t happen to have some water for me? It feels like I swallowed the entire Hammerhead dessert.”

“We do, your Majesty, if you would follow us to the kitchen.” Cor said.

“I apologize Noct, we put your clothes away yesterday, you will find something more suitable in your old room.”

“All good Specs, I don’t think even you could fix the cuts in my shirt.” He tried to put his weight on his feet but his knees buckled and Iris and Gladio caught him. Prompto had made room for the others to get to Noct and take a closer look.

“Still a little shaky it seems.” Noct said and the others laughed. Only Aranea paid any attention to Prompto, staring daggers at him but didn’t say anything. He avoided her eyes.

“How about something to warm you up, buddy.” Prompto said instead.

“That is an excellent idea, Cid and I found some cacao powder that should still be edible, yesterday.” Ignis said.

“I could go for that.”

Gladio and Iris half carried Noct to the elevator and up into the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

Everyone around him chatted animatedly, while they shared the still edible rations the Citadel pantry carried. Noct slowly sipped at the warm cocoa in a simple white mug, smiling at the people around him. He picked at a stale cookie and put a piece in his mouth from time to time.

It wasn’t the most lavish breakfast Prompto had ever had but it was the best with a wide margin. He could feel the happiness radiating off every single person. Some were more obvious in their joy than others. Iris grinned from one ear to the other while Cor simply sat at the table and looked fondly at the display before him.

Prompto was on the sidelines, watching more than talking about any of it, it was good that he had the chance to see this before him, moments like this was why he brought Noct back in the first place. To see him smile and happy with the others. Everything else would come along the way, he still had Iggy and Gladio to lead his way and everyone else to support him.

He was also glad about the letters. Prompto was never good with words, too insecure to just talk about things until he couldn’t keep it in any longer and released all his worries in one go.

* * *

 

 

Now the only thing left for him to do was talk to Noct about, well, his feelings. That would probably be a little awkward…. Considering he’d be gone tomorrow and Noct’s heart was obviously still with Luna. But he asked Shiva for one day and he would be damned if he didn’t use it. But he didn’t have a chance to talk to Noctis right then.

After breakfast Noct was swept away by Ignis to make an announcement himself that he was, in fact, not dead and here to stay. They devised a plan to rebuild Insomnia and the rest of Lucis and Niflheim. At that Noct shot Prompto a smile, he hadn’t forgotten. Prompto was glad, he would keep his promise even if he wasn’t around anymore. Aranea would ensure that, she might not be loyal to the Niflheim army anymore but it was her home, though her loyalty always belonged to herself first and foremost. She must have good memories there, or other people she cared about. His heart ached at the thought of the fight they’d had the day before.

He walked over to her and whispered in her direction.

“Hey, can we talk?” She glanced at him and nodded. They left the dining room and went to the balcony overlooking the city.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry about what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean it, you know how much you mean to me, you’re one of my best friends. You picked me back up when I was at my lowest. you gave me hope when I had none. You’re so important to me, you are a hero.”

“I know Prompto, maybe we both overreacted yesterday.” She sighed. “So, you did make that deal I take it?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“How long do you have?”

“Today.” She flinched but didn’t berate him again.

“Are you going to tell the others?”

“Nah, they’d worry too much, but I wrote them letters explaining all of it, they’re in my bag.” He let the connected request stay silent. Aranea would see that everyone got their letter in due time. “I’ll talk to Noct though, last wish and no regrets and all that.”

She pulled him close and hugged him, her arms squeezing him fiercely.

“You’re still an idiot.”

“Thanks Aranea, I love you too.”

“I love you. I’m still mad at you though, you know.”

“I know. Maybe I’ll stay here as ghost so you can reverse haunt me.” He said. Aranea laughed and mussed up his hair.

“You better talk to his highness before tonight. He deserves to know what you gave up for him.”

“I don’t know if I should. It would just burden him.”

“He’s a big boy Prom, let him decide what he can and can’t handle.”

“You’re probably right.”

 

They didn’t notice when Noct came into the room and was about to turn back around when he saw them hug. Aranea noticed him trying to slip away though.

“Hey Princey, stay. I was just on my way out, you two have a lot to talk about.”

Noctis stared at her with an expression Prompto couldn’t quite place.

“I really don’t want to intrude.”

“No intrusion here.” She said and turned towards the door. Both Prompto and Noctis stared after her as he walked by Noctis, completely unperturbed, out of the door.

 

“Soooo.”

“So.” Prompto echoed. A moment passed in an awkward silence.

“What is it you have to tell me?” Noctis asked, his eyes flitting up to Prompto’s for a slit-second then they focused on a point to Prompto’s left again.

“Heh. Yeah, I guess I owe you an explanation.” Noctis crossed his arms before his chest and waited. “It’s a complicated story, but I swear you’re back for good!” Prompto absolutely believed Shiva kept her end of the deal, Noct was here to stay.

“Are you ever going to tell me what exactly you did to make that happen?” Noctis quirked his eyebrows.

“Maybe someday…” Prompto said, not making eye contact and fidgeting with the button on his jacket sleeve, Noct sighed.

“That’s good enough for me I guess, for now.” Prompto looked up, unsure of what his friend’s face would show him. To his surprise Noctis looked calm and not nearly as angry as he ought to be.

“It’s good to have you back, I missed you, Noct.” Prompto couldn’t help not hiding how hopeful we was.

“It’s good to be back. Though I didn’t think I’d see you and the others so soon, I’d just settled in with Luna to wait for the rest of you.” Guilt stabbed Prompto in the stomach. Luna. He wouldn’t be able to return to her for a very long time.

“I’m sorry you had to leave her so soon.” _I’m so so sorry, I hope you won’t hate me for this._

“Luna will be fine, she has Pryna with her and Gentiana visited us as well.”

“Did you see Umbra…over there too?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so, he wasn’t around.”

“Do you think he could pass over there?”

“I mean, probably, he’s a magic dog.”

 

“Did you know Gentiana was Shiva?”

“She showed herself to me on the train when he left Altissia, after… I pushed you off.” Noct cringed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“There were never any hard feelings about that Noct, I’m fine. Seriously.”

 “I still need to apologize to you Prom, I didn’t know I’d be gone for so long when the crystal took me and you guys waited for me all this time and then I died.”

“Nah, don’t apologize. None of that was your fault you know. And besides, I didn’t mind waiting for you.”

“Ten years? That is a little crazy, Prom.” Noctis playfully nudged his shoulder.

“I guess…people do crazy things… for love, Noct.” With that he looked up and stared searchingly into Noct’s eyes. They were blank for the fraction of a second before Prompto’s words settled in his mind, then they widened.

“Love?” Noct whispered, and he stood still like he was suddenly frozen in place.

“Yeah. I love you.” He cleared his throat, “Like, I’m in love with you.” Prompto said, waiting for a response. His entire body felt impossibly hot and uncomfortable.

“You love me?”

“Uh-huh.” Pormpto stared down at his feet, his blush spreading like a wildfire over his skin. “Listen, I- I know you love Luna, I get it. I just thought you should know… and I’d regret not telling you ever, soooo here we are.” If he bit any harder on his bottom lip he’d draw blood but he didn’t even feel the pressure on the delicate skin.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Noctis asked, his eyebrows knit in confussion.

“Have you met me, or you? Our track record shows we’re not exactly the best communicators there are.” Prompto’s heart was doing summersaults in his chest and his stomach felt queasy.

“Wow, Prom, thanks for the vote of confidence….” Noctis smiled.

“It’s true though, we friendship-pined for like five years before I finally approached you.” If Noctis didn’t say how he felt soon or just straight up rejected him Prompto might burst, his hands were shaking.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘pining’, I was just hopeful. It’s not everyday someone wanted to be my friend.” Noctis said and started fiddling with the draw strings of his pants, he didn’t look at Prompto. “Or more than that” he quietly added as an afterthought. “I wish you’d said something sooner…”

“Would it have changed anything? You still had to fulfill your destiny.”

“I don’t know, it might have.”

“Well, I’m doing it now aren’t I?”

“Better late than never I suppose.”

“Yeah.” Prompto stared intently at his clasped hands in his lap. “Uhm. You kinda already said it but I need you to spell it out for me. Do you have any feelings for me? Like romantic ones?”

“You’re my best friend Prompto.” Ouch. And there he had his answer, he did ask for it.

“Yeah. I thought you might say that…I was just wondering if it was more than that.” Prompto couldn’t help but prod and finally get an absolute answer that left no room for doubt.

“I- feelings are… difficult. I love you and the others so much, I literally died for you,” his eyebrows drew together “but for me Luna’s death, my father’s death happened only weeks ago. It’s all still so fresh I don’t know what I’m feeling.” He looked at Prompto, his eyes searching for something. Understanding perhaps.

“That’s alright Noct, it’s not like I wasn’t expecting this outcome.”

“Prom, that’s not-“

“Don’t worry about me dude. I’m fine, really.”

“Please, listen- Prom- Prompto.” He reached out and grabbed Prompto’s right wrist. “Please don’t go.” Prompto looked down at Noctis hand encircling his wrist. He sighed. He might as well tell him the whole story. It was now or never really.

“Maybe we can sit down if we’re talking more about this, it might take a while.”

They walked over to Noctis’ old room, Prompto trailed behind Noctis, his eyes fixed on their hands. When they arrived the settled down on the black couch that was lining the wall adjacent to the glass wall a few feet of distance between them. 

 

“What do you want to know?” Prompto asked.

Noctis bit his lips in thought, “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you fall in love with me?”

“Dude, are you seriously asking me that? _Why_?” Noctis didn’t look into his eyes, instead they were darting around the room and he was gnawing on his bottom lip.

“I’ve been in love with you for a very long time. Probably the first time we talked.” Prompto knew Noctis understood that he wasn’t talking about the first day of high school. “I mean, back then it was because I admired how cool you were, you were so quiet and seemed so assured in everything you did, I wanted to be confident like you.” Noctis snorted.

“Confident? You have met me, right?”

“Dude, we were like 12 I only knew you from far away and from official royal festivities that were broadcasted to the people. To tween-me you were the coolest person ever. So cool that I wanted to be good enough to be your friend one day in fact.”

“You hadn’t had to change anything for that. I would have been glad to have you as a friend way before high school, no matter what you looked like.”

“I know that _now_. But back then I was so shy and insecure I thought a no one like me would never be good enough for you.”

“I’m sorry I ever made you feel that way.”

“You were just a kid, you didn’t mean to do any harm. We became friends in the end.” Noctis smiled and played with the cuff of his sleeve.

 

“You know, I think only I realized I was in love with you on the day your engagement to Luna was announced.” It was remarkable how easy it suddenly felt to say those words to Noctis, ‘I love you’ used to taunt him in his day dreams and whenever Noctis smiled at him like he’d given him the best present ever.

“Impeccable timing.”

“I know… typical isn’t it? I remember it like it was yesterday. ’ _Oh’_ never felt so soul-crushing before in my entire life. But I couldn’t really be mad, you two were old friends, way before we were and I owe Luna.”

“Owe? How come? You never met her.”

“It was actually because of Luna that I decided to befriend you. Did I ever tell you that I knew Pryna?”

“Pryna?” He sounded surprised “How?”

“I rescued and treated a wound on her once, I didn’t know she was Luna’s dog of course. I called her ‘Tiny’, she stayed with me for a couple of days, but one day she was just gone. I was so sad and dejected when she vanished, I suddenly had someone who’d be there when I came home, it was kind of nice. A little later I received a letter from ‘Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret of Tenebrae’ I thought someone must have tricked me to be honest, but who else would know about Tiny and would go through the effort to find out who helped her and then send a letter to that person?”

“That definitely sounds like Luna.”

“She said I must be a friend of yours if I found Tiny and she asked me to be ever at your side.”

“Is that where you got that from? You said the same thing after we freed you from Ardyn. ‘Ever at your side’.”

“Uh-huh, it is, those words just stayed with me through all these years. Probably saved my life in Gralea too, I couldn’t die knowing I’d be leaving you to fend for yourself and not seeing your face one last time. I stayed alive for love” Prompto almost laughed about the irony of his words. He was only mere hours away of doing just that. Leaving everything to Noct, without any warning. Maybe it was alright to be a little hypocritical if it was for the greater good? Besides, Noct wouldn’t be all alone this time around.

 

“I know you don’t feel the same way about me, but I needed to say my piece, it’s been long overdue.”

“Who says I don’t?”

“But you-, you didn’t say anything when I said I love you, so I assumed...”

“I said feelings were complicated, not that I didn’t return yours.” Noctis blushed from the root of his hair to his neck. “It’s just… everything’s going so fast and I might need a little time to readjust. I did love you when I left. I loved you when we graduated together, when you joined my Crownsguard. I’ve loved you for a long time too, but I don’t know how to handle all of this.” He gestured to, well, everything. “I don’t know about love and relationships, or other…bodily aspects. On top of ruling a nation.” He had the soft blush on his face “But I’m willing to figure things out with you, if you still want to.”

Prompto didn’t know if he should laugh or cry, maybe both. Here he was, Noct living and breathing before him and saying words he only allowed himself to imagine in his wildest dreams, and Prompto was just hours away from death. Life was ironic this way. They could have had years together. They could have been happy for as long as they had. And this time it was the purely egoistical part of his brain that spoke, when he said:

“We can take it one day at a time, Noct.”

“Is it alright if I kiss you?” Noctis asked, his eyes still not meeting his, this time there really were tears in Prompto’s eyes.

“Yes.” ‘Of course’ he wanted to say, he’d only been waiting for this for the better part of his life.

Noct stepped closer, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. He reached out both hands to touch Prompto’s face and drew it closer to his own. They were still nearly the same height and Prompto could stare into Noct’s eyes and forget for a moment where and who he was before Noct closed his eyes and Prompto felt a soft touch against his lips.

It wasn’t the rainbows and fireworks Prompto had envisioned when he was younger but his heart still leapt in his chest. The kiss ended before it even really began, it only lasted a second before Noctis drew away and cast his eyes downwards.

Their first and last kiss.

There were two souls at war in Prompto’s chest. He wanted this to last for years and years to come, to see themselves growing old together to explore this sudden turn of events but on the other hand, the more logical part of him was happy to get this one kiss, to experience one last absolute happiness before it was time to go. He could go with a heart full of love and the knowledge what they might have been, that he was loved.

He reached out and took Noctis’ hand.

“I know we said to take things one day at a time but would it be alright if we’d go to sleep together? I just want to have you by my side when I fall asleep.”

“Of course.”

They took turns in the shower. Prompto picked a clean set of pajamas out of Noct’s boxes and took great care to fold his old clothes into a neat pile on the sideboard in Noct’s bathroom. They’d probably have to be burned with all the dirt, blood and sweat that was caked into them. Prompto took his time, although the water was cold it was one of the best showers he’d had in years, it cleared his head and calmed him down.

 

After he was done washing the day’s sweat away he tried to brush through his hair with his fingers as best as he could and straightened up.

 

“Hey, Prompto.”

“Hm?”  
“Can we go through your photos again? Last time… we didn’t have a chance to talk about them.”

“Sure, they’re all yours.”

 

Prompto grabbed the camera from his bag, he put the letters that were now sticking out further down and returned to Noctis. He’d crawled under the blankets, also wearing his old clothes, a gray shirt and loose fitting sweatpants. He looked at him expectantly, before he drew one edge of the blanket away when Prompto just looked at Noct in awe. It was like seeing a vision of their twenty year old selves. How it could have  been.

Prompto’s bare feet on the stone floor made no sound as he slowly walked over to the bed and joined him under the blankets. This wasn’t by far the first time they’d ever shared a bed, or even cuddled in one but it felt new and intense at the same time.

They shuffled around a little until Noct’s head was resting on Prompto’s shoulder and they both could easily see the little bright monitor of Prompto’s camera. There weren’t many new pictures since Noct had last looked through them, a picture of a day lit ruined Insomnia, one of the black cat he spotted in one of the abandoned buildings and a picture of the sunset from on top of the citadel’s roof he’d taken before Cindy found him there.

Though they went through all of them, talking about the day a particular photo was taken and what they were up to. It was always strange to think that those pictures happened only a few months ago for Noctis. He was still a young soul in his older body.

Prompto rarely used his camera once they got out of Gralea but he did take photos for special occasions like Gladio’s and Iggy’s thirtieth birthdays only a couple of years ago. There were also pictures of Prompto and whoever was with him on the 30th of August each year. Those were the only few selfies while Noctis was gone and Prompto felt Noctis duck his head when he noticed the date of the pictures in the corner.

“I was gone for so long and still, you all waited for me.” His voice was breathy.

“Of course we did, that’s what people do for love, Noct.”

“I’m glad I have you guys, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t think I could do this without you.”

“Psh, please, little old me? I am but a tooth pick for the garulas.” It was meant to sound light and overly dramatic but Noct only leaned closer.

“You are my heart, Prompto. You always were.” Right then Prompto couldn’t stop his tears from falling anymore, the tumbled from his eyes, right down on Noctis’ head on Prompto’s shoulder.

“I love you, Noctis. With all my heart.” Noct blushed and hugged him closer and closed his eyes. He brushed lazy shapes on Prompto’s shoulder until he slowly fell asleep and his hand stopped moving mid-motion. Prompto listened to his heartbeat slowing down and his breathing turning even and deep.

“I’m sorry, Noct.” He apologized and brushed his fingers through soft black hair. Prompto took his camera from the bedside table and took a photo of them intertwined. He smiled as much as he could muster at the camera. It was a good shot, if not a little dark but the light on his bedside table bathed them in a soft pale orange light. Tears were gathering at the inner corner of his eyes and he suppressed a sob that was threatening to break out of his throat.

He hoped Noct wouldn’t be too mad at him for all of this, he leaned down and kissed Noctis’ forehead and took another shoot. Maybe these pictures would be enough.

Prompto knew it was a lie as soon as he had that thought.

 

Destiny, the gods or whatever really decided these things, just wasn’t on their side. Maybe Shiva knew about Noct’s complicated feelings for him, maybe she didn’t. And in the end it didn’t matter, he decided to pay this price and he would. The riot in his chest of conflicting emotions would soon he nothing but dust in the wind. He liked to imagine they’d find him a nice sunny place in the city, maybe in the park where Prompto used to take pictures all the time. His heart ached. He didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to never see his friends again. He didn’t want to die. Shameful hot tears spilled from his eyes and he curled in on himself and tried to calm down. His breath was shaky. He didn’t want to die, but he would. He promised to protect his King and he promised Luna to support Noctis.

 

Once his sobs subsided and his breathing calmed down Prompto turned off the little lamp and settled more comfortable against Noct. He shifted him around a little until they were both lying on their sides facing each other. Prompto drew Noctis closer until their noses almost touched and he could comfortably lay his hand on the dip of Noct’s waist. Noctis took deep, peaceful breaths.

“Goodbye.” Prompto whispered and closed his eyes “I’m sorry.” and let himself be lulled in by Noctis’ quiet breathing and soft rising and falling of his chest that touched his with every inhale. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep to his surprise, he wanted to hold on as long as he could to this moment with Noct, but it was like his consciousness was dragged down by quicksand and before he knew it, it swallowed him down.

 

* * *

 

 

 

There was nothingness. Prompto was nothing, he didn’t have a body only faraway thoughts and memories he could almost grasp. He didn’t know if he was moving or staying in a fixed point. He didn’t remember the concept of here and there. He felt like a whisper in a strange place. Some part buried deep down in him remembered how he disliked the quiet and being alone. He reached around trying to grasp anything in the nothingness and against all odds he found something solid. He felt coldness, pictures of snow fights in a schoolyard and high snowy mountains in the distance flashed through his consciousness. There was laughter and cries of pain intermingling like someone played two different sound tracks at the same time. He saw snippets of blues eyes, a pair of glasses and the wings of an eagle. He saw a sunrise and a smile over a camp fire that was somehow more important than all the others. _My friends_.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prompto was on the edge of awareness, before he knew he could not possibly be awake or alive at all, Prompto heard a voice.

 

“Prompto. When you asked me why, I didn’t tell you the whole truth. I watched over you ever since Lady Lunafreya found Pryna again thanks to you. I watched your struggles to become better. I have seen your friendships develop and all your hardship. You were born in the shadow of ice and snow but blossomed into a man better than most. You have a noble and kind heart, Prompto Argentum, the world still needs you.” Shiva whispered and graced his forehead with a cold touch that made him shiver under the blanket. Subconsciously he drew Noct closer.

 

And then he woke up, with the sun in his eyes and a warm body against his chest.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading and leaving comments, every single one made my day a little better, this really was a labor of love. This thing literally lasted longer than my relationship with my ex :'D
> 
> see you <3


	4. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the vast majority of you guys wanted an epilogue, so here it is! What better date than Valentine's Day to give those boys their happy ending <33

_What if we rewrite the stars?_   
_Say you were made to be mine_   
_Nothing could keep us apart_   
_You'd be the one I was meant to find_   
_It's up to you, and it's up to me_   
_No one can say what we get to be_   
_So why don't we rewrite the stars?_

-Rewrite The Stars, The Greatest Showman

* * *

 

It turned out living is a much harder thing to do after one decides to not live anymore. Prompto felt his and Noctis’ heartbeats in unison under the blankets, against his chest. For a moment there was panic, absolute and mortal panic because this wasn’t  _right_ , this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He couldn’t be alive. And  _yet_ , here he was.

But the soft rays of sunlight tickling his face weren’t a lie, and neither was Noctis’ twitching hand in his. Prompto carefully scooted backwards, untangling his limbs from Noctis and slowly, one foot after the other, got out of bed. 

His back was to Noctis as he examined his hands, curling and uncurling them. He still had Shiva’s words in his mind “Y _ou have a noble and kind heart, Prompto Argentum, the world still needs you”._ Strangest of all, he believed her.

“Wha-“ He whispered and startled when he heard Noctis’ voice behind him.

“Come back Prompto, it’s cold.” His voice was muffled from the cocoon of blankets he had created in Prompto’s absence. He had turned around to face Prompto and a single hand was poking out of the blankets, reaching for him. Prompto smiled down at the tuft of black hair and the edge of an arched eyebrow he could see.

“Of course, Noct.” Prompto abandoned his previous train of thought and lifted one edge of the blanket to lie back down under its gentle warmth. As soon as he was within reach Noctis’ hand latched on to him and pulled him closer. Noctis only hummed in content when Prompto’s head rested under his chin and against the crook of Noctis’ neck. He could feel the warm puffs of air against his skin and smiled.

Prompto didn’t know how long exactly the two of them just dozed in each other’s warmth and the sunlight falling in through the window. Noctis was mostly asleep but Prompto heard the rest of the people roaming the halls outside the door and far away voices. His head rested comfortably on one of Noctis’ arms as he stared at the high ceiling above them.

 “We’re alive.” He said in wonderment, it was the single most astonishing thing that had ever happened to him. Noctis slowly blinked open his eyes and sighed. He sounded so at ease.

“Yeah, we are. And we’re here to stay.” He echoed the words Prompto had said the day before and softly smiled down at him. He once more reached out to pull Prompto closer.

“We should probably get up, we have a nation or two to rebuild.”

“That can wait for five more minutes.” Noctis decided as he closed his eyes again. Prompto dug one finger in his side, exactly where he knew Noctis was unbearably ticklish. He jumped a little but stubbornly left his eyes closed.

“Or until Iggy drags us out of bed.” Prompto joked. It would certainly not be the first time.

“Or that.” Noctis agreed and edged closer to Prompto still, this time nestling his head under Prompto’s chin. Prompto relaxed and closed his eyes, he was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

The others were a little confused as Aranea, tough as nails and hardened war veteran, started crying, when Prompto and Noctis finally found their way down to the kitchens. She tried to laugh it off with a “Finally, you guys actually got it on.” But she caught Prompto’s eyes and he could see how relieved she was.

* * *

 

Days and weeks passed in what felt like five minutes, other people found their way to Insomnia. Some were former residents, others were hunters and people who always wanted to visit the crown city. Together they made plans to reconstruct, kill the left-over demons that were hiding in the subway system underground and make plans to meet with representative of the other nations, to decide which role Lucis and especially Insomnia would play in the future. Much of its terrain was now split up into smaller hunter communities that had been independent for the last ten years like Lestallum and Galahd. Prompto could hardly believe he was invited as a diplomat for those talks, he had lived in many places in the time of ruin and knew many people. And to the surprise of pretty much everyone, he was a talented diplomat.

Noctis was king by birth-right but was never officially coronated. How could he after Insomnia fell and everything that happened after? Until now there never was an opportunity. So instead of a public funeral service, the arriving guests were told the coronation of the King of Light, Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV, would take place. They got to witness a freshly shaven Noctis Lucis Caelum, wearing his father’s old ceremonial robes, kneel down in front of Ignis Scientia, who was holding the finely crafted headpiece King Regis used to wear. He was sworn in and took the vows to always protect his people, a vow all knew to be chillingly true. The whole affair was over quickly and without much fanfare. Noctis had been their king before it being official, he was their hero.

* * *

 

If Prompto’s head and heart hadn’t been occupied with Noct, Noct smiling at him and Noct taking his hand, rebuilding and the coronation, he might have destroyed those letters the first chance he got. But he didn’t. He was hardly alone anymore and he just forgot because of all the excitement and hubbub around the Citadel. He even convinced himself that neither Ignis nor Gladio questioned the mysterious circumstances of Noct’s revival anymore, weeks had passed and neither had approached him about it.

That was until one afternoon, a few days after the coronation. Gladio stormed into the office, the door flew against the wall with a loud crash, but he didn’t even seem to hear it. Instead he smacked a bundle of letters, which Prompto didn’t recognize at first, on the table in front on him.

“What the hell is this?!” Gladio demanded. His tone was gruff and his amber eyes seemed to blaze down at him. Prompto was lounging on one of Noctis’ couches reading over a report about Niflheim while Noctis was typing away at a computer in a different corner. Gladio had startled him so badly he almost dropped the reports.

“Hm? What do you mean?“

“ _Dear Gladio, first of all I want to say sorry-_ “ Gladio quoted and sheer, unadulterated panic constricted Prompto’s chest.  _No no no_ , this wasn’t supposed to happen.

“NO. Gladio, stop!” Prompto yelled and snatched the letters away. Noctis had turned around to his friends and got out of his chair, approaching them in quick steps.

“Whoa. Gladio, you need to calm down.” He grabbed one of Gladio’s arms.

“Calm down?! Are you kidding me?” Gladio wrenched free and stared at Prompto.

“Noct, don’t-“ Prompto attempted to stop Noctis but he got interrupted.

“Does he know?! Does he know what you did?!” Gladio shouted, completely ignoring Noctis.

“Do I know what?” Noct’s eyes flicked to Prompto, who was frozen on the couch, still holding the report and now the letters. “Prompto?” His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked puzzled. Gladio was prone to angry outbursts but they were not usually directed at Prompto.

The paper of the report in his hands slowly crinkled and crunched as he clenched his fists.

“You were never supposed to know. None of you.” Prompto cast his eyes down.

“Prompto…?” Noctis asked again, sounding even more worried and uneasy now.

“Then why the fuck did you write those fucking letters in the first place?!” Gladio roared and Noctis could see how his arms were trembling from restraint.

“Why the hell were you even in my backpack, Gladio? Hm?!” Prompto shouted back, and shot up from his position on the couch, making the papers fly around him.

“I was looking for a photo I wanted to show Iris but that’s not important now!”

“You had no right to go through my stuff!”

“That’s not the fucking point Prompto, you left us fucking suicide notes!”

“That’s not-“ Prompto glanced at Noctis, who just stared at him, he seemed to be frozen in place, his eyes were wide and completely unbelieving. “You’re getting this all wrong, I never  _wanted_  to die.” Prompto shook his head and his voice evened out again and he whispered the last word.

“You were just going to die to bring Noct back, completely different thing.” Gladio spat and Prompto winced at the biting sarcasm in his voice.

With eyes harder than Prompto had ever seen, Noctis stared at him, again he looked so much like his father. “Prompto. Explain.” He even crossed his arms in front of his chest and used the two inches in height difference they had. Prompto considered briefly how and where to begin, if either of them would even try to understand.

“Shiva offered me a deal to bring you back, but there was a price.” Noct’s eyes widened in realization but he let Prompto speak. Prompto glanced over to Gladio’s towering figure, his arms were also crossed and his fists clenched. “She said she could transfer my life force to you and well… I guess I wasn’t in the best mental place at the time.”

“Why didn’t you tell Iggy or me? Why did you think we’d let you do this?” Gladio demanded, his voice was still sharp enough to make Prompto wince.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you, I  _needed_  to do it.” He knew neither Noctis nor Gladio would appreciate his self-deprecating explanations but that made them no less true. The world needed Noctis more than it did him. Simple as that. “Shiva would have spoken to you too if you were meant to know this.”

Prompto found twin frowns on their faces and quickly glanced down again. He tried to stop his hands from wringing themselves in front of his chest. He didn’t want to look guilty.

“How long do you have?”

“Huh? I mean, I’m not sure…I told her to take everything and give it to you but I’m still here.”

“Everything…?”

“Twenty years.”

“Twenty years…” Noctis echoed numbly. He couldn’t stop staring at Prompto, the Prompto in front of him looked so much sturdier than the one he left behind in Gralea. He looked older, more tired but in the last few weeks he slowly returned to his bubbly personality. He cracked jokes with him and the others and seemed so much lighter than he did the first day Noctis returned. “You would have given up everything…for me?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Noct. You knew that already.”

* * *

 

To say things were tense around Prompto for the next couple of days was an understatement. Noctis most of all didn’t know how to react. He was pacing in his room, walking up and down the stretch of it then turning around again. His mind couldn’t even formulate how unspeakably mad he was at Prompto. The fact that he would even consider  _sacrificing_  himself, to just leave them all behind.

_Oh_. He thought and stooped dead in his tracks. His anger dissipated _. We’re a bunch of idiots_. He shook his head. Noctis knew if any of them had gotten the same opportunity Prompto did they would have taken it in a heartbeat too. Prompto wasn’t even the first one to do it.

* * *

 

“Do you think there’s a therapist left somewhere in Lucis?” Noctis asked when he found Prompto on the balcony on the roof, he startled when Noctis addressed him. “We could probably all use some help…I’ve been struggling, Prompto,” Noctis admitted “I spent the last ten years believing I would die. A third of my life is just…gone and after all this, I’m expected to know what I’m doing.” The sun had set hours ago and the air was so cold he could see their breaths when they exhaled.

“I know how you feel… we both made our peace and now I don’t know what to do with myself.” Prompto steeled himself for one of Noctis’ hard gazes he always shot him when his deal came up, but it never came. Noctis seemed strangely at ease now.

“Even before all this, I could have used to work through some stuff, Iggy never outright said it but deep down I also knew I had,  _have_  depression,” he corrected himself. “I’d guess there is some PTSD involved now too.”

“I used to get panic attacks when we were about to graduate high school and later in the time of ruin… the first one seems so trivial next to the literal end of the world. Before you asked me to join your Crownsguard I was so afraid I’d never see you again, I thought I’d lose you. I thought the same in the last ten years.”

“I’m sorry Prompto, I should have noticed, I should have said something.”

“It’s not your fault, and we got there in the end.” He smiled up to Noct and held out his hand, “I think it would be good to talk to someone about what happened to us. Can’t keep all that stuff bottled up forever.” Prompto said. Noctis didn’t hesitate and intertwined their hands.

“There are so many people who’ve seen horrible things, even before I was gone. I want to help all of them.”

“Then we should talk to Iggy and include a mental health center in our city plans.”

“I think, he’ll like that idea.” Noctis smiled and squeezed Prompto’s hand. He faced away from Prompto to look down at the city lights. “I get it now, Prompto. I didn’t see it before but I get it. You did the same thing I did and I shouldn’t have been as mad as I was.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, I knew you guys wouldn’t be too happy, I just didn’t expect to be around for the fallout.”

Both of them were quiet for a long moment, they watched over the city when Noctis looked over and saw Prompto’s profile. Prompto was smiling, there were crinkles around his eyes and his face looked a little less sharp than it did ten years ago. Nocits loved this man, had since he was maybe 16 and now they finally stood here together.

“Prompto,” Noctis started and watched Prompto’s head turn towards him, “I know this is sudden but I think we both waited long enough for, well, this.” And he held out a delicate looking headpiece that was mirroring Noctis’ own crown in design. Together they looked like a set of graceful horns.

It wasn’t like the big romantic gestures Prompto always imagined when he allowed himself to entertain the idea of proposing to Noct when he was so much younger. But in a way it was fitting. They were piecing themselves together. Like the headpiece they were stronger united. “Would you do me the honor to become my husband?” Noctis asked, his face more serious than it had been before his question.

 “Noct-“ Prompto didn’t know what to say, he didn’t expect Noctis to ever do this. Not after the letters. Some things just seemed so far out of his grasp he accepted that he would never get them. He thought back to the letters that used to be hidden deep down in his travel bag, he felt every single word of them burn at the back of his mind. He didn’t know if he really was here for good, maybe he’d have another day, maybe years. Prompto didn’t know what kind of magic Shiva worked to bring back Noctis and let him live as well, but the words were out of his mouth before he could come up with more reasons why he shouldn’t. “Of course.”

“Ever at my side?” Noctis’ expression relaxed and there was a weightless smile on his lips.

“Always.” He promised with a smile mirroring Noctis’.

“Aren’t you supposed to say ‘Ever at your side’?”

“I thought it might be time to find something more fitting. I will  _always_  choose you.” Prompto said. Noctis stepped closer to him until Prompto could see the stars reflecting in the deep blue of Noctis’ eyes.

“No. Choose  _us_ , not me. There’s no point to this if you aren’t here to share it  _with_  me. I thought I made that clear.” Noctis raised one eyebrow and his gaze was a little more serious now. Prompto smiled and took the hand that was still holding out the headpiece.

“Always us, then?” Prompto asked as he guided Noctis’ hand up to the side of head.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Noctis smiled in return and fastened the crown on his lover’s head where he let his hand rest and drew their foreheads together for a kiss.

And they stood there, bathed in the light of a thousand stars and thought about all the things that were ahead of them.

 

It was time for a new era and Prompto couldn’t wait to see it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, drop me a comment or if you want to scream about it 'in person' you can find me here: [my twitter](https://twitter.com/anniekinkin) or [my tumblr](http://bubblline.tumblr.com/)


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